First published 2008
Billy Collins writes with simple, clear language that makes poetry accessible to readers who might otherwise skip verse entirely. As a two-term U.S. Poet Laureate, he has built a reputation for capturing everyday life with its pleasures, frustrations, moments of sorrow and happiness. In this collection, Collins expands his range to tackle love, death, solitude, youth, and the process of growing older. He draws inspiration from the world around him and from poets like Robert Frost, Paul Valéry, and eleventh-century writer Liu Yung. The poems move between playful and moving, finding meaning in the smallest details of ordinary experience. Collins reflects on sitting in his kitchen at Pheasant Ridge, a place with neither pheasants nor an actual ridge. He imagines living across the street from himself, wondering about a light burning in his study at five in the morning. Through these intimate observations, readers glimpse the mind of a thoughtful poet who transforms mundane moments into art.
Genres: american-fiction, american, poetry, 21st-century
Vibes: intimate, lyrical, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, slice-of-life
Setting: Pheasant Ridge
Period: 5 AM
128 pages · Hardcover · Random House