Billy Collins Essay
Nick McNeil
Professor Moore
ENC1102
28 Feb. 2013
Laughs for Realization
There are many famous poets out there but “the most popular poet in America” by Bruce Weber in the New York Times, states that Billy Collins carries that position. Collins is famous for conversational, witty poems that welcome readers with humor but often slip into quirky, tender or profound observation on the everyday, reading and writing, and poetry itself. He has such a wonderful way of writing his poetry to appeal to any audience and that will make you chuckle to yourself. He is a very creative and enthusiastic writer and writes on a very broad spectrum of subjects. He has a way of making every day common things into a hysterical form of comedic writing He hints …show more content…
Olivia mentions that “Adults, however, are not always as straightforward and expressive as children when it comes to name calling. Many teenagers and adults want to maintain a positive image and do not want others to know that they think of them negatively or as weird or strange. Teenagers and adults tend to do less name-calling face to face and more behind people's back or in their heads to themselves without any vocalization.” That they mean no actual harm with this way of being, but it’s a way to get their feelings out and to try and get awareness, whether it is negative attention or not, it’s still all the same to them. It shows in the poem his relation to the children’s minds and how they see adults in saying that “they are just tormenting their fellow squirts or going after the attention of the giants way up there with their cocktails and bad breath talking baritone nonsense to the other giants.” This part of the poem is relating to the adults and parents of the children having a cocktail party and how at least children call each other names to their faces while adults smile and pretend to one another when they are face to face, and wait for them to leave before talking garbage, saying rude offensive things about them, and basically backstabbing one another. He says they are “waiting to call them names after thanking them for a lovely party and hearing the door
Professor Moore
ENC1102
28 Feb. 2013
Laughs for Realization
There are many famous poets out there but “the most popular poet in America” by Bruce Weber in the New York Times, states that Billy Collins carries that position. Collins is famous for conversational, witty poems that welcome readers with humor but often slip into quirky, tender or profound observation on the everyday, reading and writing, and poetry itself. He has such a wonderful way of writing his poetry to appeal to any audience and that will make you chuckle to yourself. He is a very creative and enthusiastic writer and writes on a very broad spectrum of subjects. He has a way of making every day common things into a hysterical form of comedic writing He hints …show more content…
Olivia mentions that “Adults, however, are not always as straightforward and expressive as children when it comes to name calling. Many teenagers and adults want to maintain a positive image and do not want others to know that they think of them negatively or as weird or strange. Teenagers and adults tend to do less name-calling face to face and more behind people's back or in their heads to themselves without any vocalization.” That they mean no actual harm with this way of being, but it’s a way to get their feelings out and to try and get awareness, whether it is negative attention or not, it’s still all the same to them. It shows in the poem his relation to the children’s minds and how they see adults in saying that “they are just tormenting their fellow squirts or going after the attention of the giants way up there with their cocktails and bad breath talking baritone nonsense to the other giants.” This part of the poem is relating to the adults and parents of the children having a cocktail party and how at least children call each other names to their faces while adults smile and pretend to one another when they are face to face, and wait for them to leave before talking garbage, saying rude offensive things about them, and basically backstabbing one another. He says they are “waiting to call them names after thanking them for a lovely party and hearing the door