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Billy Collins Quotes


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Quotes by Billy Collins

Showing 51-60 of 84 Quotes by Billy Collins

When I was a young man, I understood that poetry was two things - it was difficult to understand, but you could understand that the poet was miserable. So for a while there, I wrote poems that were hard to understand, even by me, but gave off whiffs of misery.

~Billy Collins

Topics: Could Difficult Even Gave Hard Man Me Miserable Misery Off Poems Poet Poetry Things Two Understand Understood Were While Wrote You Young Young Man

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I don't think I've ever written a poem whose intention was just to be funny. I've written poems that start out funny and often shift into something more serious.

~Billy Collins

Topics: Ever Funny Intention Just More Often Out Poem Poems Serious Shift Something Start Think Whose Written

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I'm a nearly uncontrollable Geoff Dyer fan, who I think is one of the most comically brilliant writers today.

~Billy Collins

Topics: Brilliant Fan Most Nearly Think Today Uncontrollable Who Writers I Think

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I'll listen to anything authentic whether it's bluegrass or gospel or blues.

~Billy Collins

Topics: Anything Authentic Bluegrass Blues Gospel Listen Whether

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I am a nonparticipant of social media. I'm not much attracted to anything that involves the willing forfeiture of privacy and the foregrounding of insignificance.

~Billy Collins

Topics: Am Anything Attracted Insignificance Involves Media Much Privacy Social Social Media Willing I Am

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The obituaries shot up to the top of my list when I discovered Robert McG. Thomas, the 'Times' obit writer who redesigned its traditional form and added a measure of stylistic elegance.

~Billy Collins

Topics: Added Discovered Elegance Form List Measure Obituaries Robert Shot Stylistic Thomas Times Top Traditional Up Who Writer

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Now that I'm older, a real source of interest is the ages of the dead, the number; the day is off to an optimistic start when the departed are all older than I.

~Billy Collins

Topics: Ages Day Dead Departed Interest Now Number Off Older Optimistic Real Source Start Than

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I first came across 'The Lake Isle of Innisfree' in college, with other anthologized poems by Yeats.

~Billy Collins

Topics: Across Came College First Isle Lake Other Poems

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One of the disadvantages of poetry over popular music is that if you write a pop song, it naturally gets into people's heads as they listen in the car. You don't have to memorize a Paul Simon song; it's just in your head, and you can sing along. With a poem, you have to will yourself to memorize it.

~Billy Collins

Topics: Along Car Disadvantages Gets Head Heads Just Listen Memorize Music Naturally Over Paul People Poem Poetry Pop Pop Song Popular Popular Music Simon Sing Song Will Write You Your Yourself

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I'm not a claustrophobe, but you don't need to be to feel claustrophobic inside an MRI. It's like being buried alive.

~Billy Collins

Topics: Alive Being Buried Claustrophobic Feel Inside Like Need You

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Biography

Nationality: American

Type: Poet

Born: March 22nd, 1941

Links

Find Billy Collins on Amazon

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