This is the second collection of Billy Collins' poems I have read and it is an enjoyable one, though I preferred The Trouble with Poetry. This collection had a more solemn and reflective tone running through it versus the subtle wit and hint of mischief that dominated in the The Trouble with Poetry. A lovely collection of poems; just "not as much favorite." Hence, the 4 stars instead of 5. =) ( )

These words are a solemn yet warm friend in mourning. Poetry that can rekindle your earnest love for life in the dark of a gloomy day. ( )

Collins has been my favorite poet for years. This collection, and his work in general, is clever and whimsical and humorous and touching and beautiful. It speaks to me. =) ( )

For me, a new collection of Billy Collins poetry always comes with a glorious collection of baggage. Everything from rip-stop nylon bags, airliner-sized cases with wheels and those clicking retractable handles, old hard sided cases, and even an old trunk with leather straps and decals from the famous places you’ve visited. The nicest bag would reflect that special time each year when my late wife and I sat down with piles of poetry books and the occasional New Yorker, to search, and then read to each other the possible choices for our bookstore’s Poem-A-Day program. For each day of April, (National Poetry Month) we would hand out and email our customers one of those poems that impressed us. Another classy bag would represent a reading at that art deco jewel, The Crest in Sacramento, and a charming 2016 evening with both Billy and musician/songwriter Aimee Mann at the Zellerbach in Berkeley.
With both large audiences and small, Billy Collins cradles the people in his hands, in his poetry, and always elicits their whole-hearted applause and laughter. Critics have faulted him for being too assessable, but that’s a crock. He’s a poet who appeals to a wide range of people, on so many different levels. His poetry is from everyday life (his and ours), there’s no required classics knowledge, and there are rarely any references to obscure figures or places.
I have a cherished, old torn and worn plaid shirt that gives me a feeling of comfort every time I pull it on, much the same as reading a Collins poem—they are both so reliable for their warmth and softness. Never have I tried that shirt or a Collins poem on, and thought of damning its “accessibility.”
This is his thirteenth collection of poems, and many of the poems have that dependable Collins quirkiness, and give us a world inhabited with animals. There are also others that are quite serious and take you somewhere else entirely. I appreciate his work to no end. If a poem doesn’t ‘click’ the first time through, I’m sure to feel a kinship upon a second reading. So many times, I can practically see the poet’s smiling face, as he’s having as much fun giving, as we are in receiving his words.
A poem can find a relationship with a reader in many different ways. It may grow slowly for a person, line by line, or the whole poem may build and work as all the different parts of it fit together in your mind. Many times, I’ll be enjoying a poem as I’m moving through it, but then a few lines, or maybe just a phrase, will connect directly to my memories or my life. I’ll sometimes feel a jolt, and then a smile spreading over my face. Some poems make you smile, give you a firm connection and a feeling that you take away from them. Having just finished Whale Day and Other Poems, I’m carrying many of those “smiling lines.” ( )

*E-ARC received from Edelweiss Plus with the understanding that I would post an honest review. No money or other goods were exchanged, and all views are my own.*

Billy Collins has a knack for making poetry accessible and mixing the quotidian with the profound. This new collection, featuring all new poems (some were previously published in literary periodicals), was really enjoyable. The poems run the gamut from a playful use of language in "Flash Card" to more somber thoughts in mortality in "On the Deaths of Friends." Many of them mix unexpected elements that will leave you thinking about the poem or pondering the everyday in a new way which is, I think, really what poetry should be about. ( )