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
When I became poet laureate, I was in a slightly uncomfortable position because I think a lot of poetry isn't worth reading.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Billy Collins expresses skepticism about the value of much poetry while reflecting on his role as poet laureate.
In his quote, Billy Collins candidly shares his discomfort in holding the prestigious title of poet laureate, revealing his belief that much of poetry fails to resonate or hold significance for readers. This perspective emphasizes the subjective nature of art and invites deeper reflection on the standards and expectations for poetry and its creators.
Themes
PoetryValueArtSkepticismLaureate
In practice
Example use cases
During a poetry workshop, you might quote Collins to spark a discussion about the quality of modern poetry.
More from Billy Collins
All quotes βPeople 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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