b i ll y c o ll i n s
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“His rangers hat is cocked at a disturbing angle.” . augh. ou. an. B I LL Y C O LL I N S. Jake Sager. Paul Flanagan. Michael Andrews. American 2001 U.S . Poet Laureate Sometimes referred to as the most popular poet in America - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
BILLY COLLINSJake Sager.
Paul Flanagan.
Michael Andrews.
“His rangers
hat is cocked
at a disturbing angle.” o
u
anaugh
Back
grou
nd
Info
rmat
ion American2001 U.S. Poet Laureate
Sometimes referred to as
the most popular poet in AmericaHe has received poetry
fellowships from the New York Foundation for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Guggenheim Foundation
Care
er
• Earned a BA from the college of Holy Cross
• Earned an MA and PhD from the University of California-Riverside
• Chosen several times for the best American poet series
Child
hood
• Born in New York City• Billy’s Mom was a nurseo Had ability to recite entire
verses on almost any subject.o Ability inspired Billy’s love
of words
Stru
ctur
e/st
yle
oMost works do not rhymeoWrites in consistently
sized stanzasoStanzas usually form a storyline oVery laid back and
humorous
Flam
es
“Smokey the Bear heads into the
autumn woods with a red can of
gasoline and a box of wooden
matches. His ranger's hat is cocked at a
disturbing angle. His brown fur gleams under the
high sun as his paws, the size of
catcher's mitts, crackle into the
distance. He is sick of dispensing warnings
to the careless, the half-wit
camper, the dumbbell hiker.
He is going to show them how a
professional does it.”
Anot
her R
easo
n I
Don’
t Kee
p a
Gun
in
the
Hous
e
“The neighbors' dog will not stop barking.
He is barking the same high, rhythmic bark
that he barks every time they leave the house.
They must switch him on on their way out.
The neighbors' dog will not stop barking.
I close all the windows in the house
and put on a Beethoven symphony full blast
but I can still hear him muffled under the music,
barking, barking, barking,and now I can see him sitting in the orchestra,
his head raised confidently as if Beethoven
had included a part for barking dog.
When the record finally ends he is still barking,
sitting there in the oboe section barking,
his eyes fixed on the conductor who is
entreating him with his batonwhile the other musicians listen in respectful
silence to the famous barking dog solo,
that endless coda that first established
Beethoven as an innovative genius. “
Litan
y
“You are the bread and the knife,
The crystal goblet and the wine...
-Jacques CrickillonYou are the bread and the knife,
the crystal goblet and the wine.
You are the dew on the morning grass
and the burning wheel of the sun.
You are the white apron of the baker,
and the marsh birds suddenly in flight.
However, you are not the wind in the orchard,
the plums on the counter,
or the house of cards.And you are certainly not the pine-scented air.
There is just no way that you are the pine-scented air.
It is possible that you are the fish under the bridge,
maybe even the pigeon on the general's head,
but you are not even close
to being the field of cornflowers at dusk.
And a quick look in the mirror will show
that you are neither the boots in the corner
nor the boat asleep in its boathouse.
It might interest you to know,
speaking of the plentiful imagery of the world,
that I am the sound of rain on the roof.
I also happen to be the shooting star,
the evening paper blowing down an alley
and the basket of chestnuts on the kitchen table.
I am also the moon in the trees
and the blind woman's tea cup.
But don't worry, I'm not the bread and the knife.
You are still the bread and the knife.
You will always be the bread and the knife,
not to mention the crystal goblet and--somehow--the wine.”
Liter
ary
Criti
cism One of the most
commendable American poets”Truly deserves the title of U.S. Poet Laureate”
Som
e No
tabl
e W
orks
• Pokerface (1977)• The Art of Drowning (1995)• Taking Off Emily
Dickinson’s Clothes (2000)• The Trouble with Poetry,
and Other Poems (2005)• She Was Just Seventeen
(2008)• Horoscopes for the Dead (2011)
The
End oLaureate winneroSmartoComical poeto wrote hundreds of
poems