Hello and welcome to Frank Skinner's poetry podcast this week I want to talk about

the American poet Billy Collins if he is one thing and he's more than that, he is popular. In fact, he was

described by the New York Times as the most popular poet in America. Now I know I always fool around

when I talk about fame and popularity in the context of poetry on this podcast because most people

obviously aren't interested at all in poetry and don't know any poets apart

from I don't know Shakespeare Wordsworth maybe but he's certainly big by

poetry standards in his home country of the United States of America.

The Encyclopedia Britannica, yes I looked in there, said of Billy Collins' poetry,

it is uncommonly accessible verse. There'll be some sort of

avant-garde types already switching this off. Uncommonly accessible verse characterized by plain language, oh no, and an alert

appreciation for the mundane, well I do like anyone who's got an alert appreciation for the mundane. So it sounds

doesn't it like I'm going to be reading poetry for people who don't like poetry if you know what I'm going to be reading poetry for people who don't like poetry if you know what I mean.

When people say, oh, I don't like this new stuff, oh I don't like that flowery old stuff.

I like stuff that goes, did it, did it,dit-dit-dd-dit-dd-dit-dd-dit-dit-dit-ddd-dee. He isn't that kind of popular, don't worry. I wouldn't be reading him out to you if I didn't think he was brilliant. I like reading him out to you as if I was some

sort of poetical town crier. I mean sharing his work with you is what I mean just to give you a little bit of his

CV's a former American poet and also a former New York City poet laureate who knew and also get this he

used to have a poetry channel on Delta Airlines you know, their in-flight entertainment thing and you don't hear many

poetry channels on in-flight entertainment. Believe me I have searched for them. So yeah he sort of seems

to transcend the poetry secret world that I talk about a lot on this podcast and has lapsed slightly into the popular. I would say in that context that you might expect

his verse to be very regular and to use a lot of rhyme and all those things that make popular poetry,

you know, accessibility and just the lovely sound of words.'t get me wrong I like popular poetry I should give an example of it

Stuff like what is this life if full of care we have no time to stop and stare it's so

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