I think what gets a poem going is an initiating line. Sometimes a first line will occur, and it goes nowhere; but other times - and this, I think, is a sense you develop - I can tell that the line wants to continue.
Billy CollinsRead
I'm very aware of the presence of a reader, and that probably is a reaction against a lot of poems that I do read which seem oblivious to my presence as a reader.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the importance of acknowledging the reader's presence in poetry, contrasting with works that ignore their audience.
Billy Collins speaks to the intimate relationship between a poet and the reader, highlighting that a good poem should recognize and engage with its audience. He suggests that many poems feel disconnected from readers, which diminishes their impact. By being aware of the reader, a poet can create more relatable and engaging work that resonates on a deeper level.
Themes
PoetryReaderEngagementAwarenessExpression
In practice
Example use cases
In a poetry workshop discussing reader engagement, I might quote Collins to illustrate the importance of including the reader.
More from Billy Collins
All quotes →People think of poetry as a school subject... Poetry is very frustrating to students because they don't have a taste for ambiguity, for one thing. That gives them a poetry hangover.
Billy CollinsRead
To a poet, it's quite ruinous to have a poem distorted, out of shape, or squeezed, shall we say, into this tiny screen. But I'm not sure big digital companies are sensitive to the needs of poets.
Billy CollinsRead
All they want to do is tie the poem to a chair with a rope and torture a confession out of it. They begin beating it with a hose to find out what it really means.
Billy CollinsRead
And the reason I am writing this on the back of a manila envelope now that they have left the train together is to tell you that when she turned to lift the large, delicate cello onto the overhead rack, I saw him looking up at her and what she was doing the way the eyes of saints are painted when they are looking up at God when he is doing something remarkable, something that identifies him as God.
Billy CollinsRead
The whole world of publishing is moving to electronic, but when you put a poem on a screen and you increase the type size, the shape of a poem changes.
Billy CollinsRead
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