Picnic, Lightning by Billy Collins

Commenting on his popularity, two-term U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins said that his poetry is “suburban, it's domestic, it's middle class, and it's sort of unashamedly that.” Of course there's much more to it. While he doesn't make us work too hard, and his voice is situated firmly in the everyday, the poet's imagination wanders vastly like a migrating monarch butterfly—colored with humor and discovery, wonder and profundity. Could it be the universe is the shape of a man looking out the window of his home, reading under a shade tree in his backyard or buzzing around the house on espresso?

Leatherby Libraries Call Number: PS 3553.O47478 P52 1998
2nd Floor Humanities Library
Review submitted by: Chris Rynd, Senior Writer, University Advancement
Rating: Highly Recommended