First published 2016
Billy Collins presents nearly fifty poems that examine the ordinary world with fresh eyes. He observes dogs wandering through Minneapolis without knowing their location. He watches three boys kick a soccer ball through Portuguese rain while their mothers call from windows above. Collins studies a weather vane, contemplates a still life painting, and follows a child who has wandered away at a beach. His imagination places Shakespeare in a first class airline seat and pictures Keith Richards holding up the entire globe. The poems move between playful observations and deeper reflections, including his response to poet Seamus Heaney's death. Collins finds meaning in calendars, cats wearing hats, and the difference between Spain's reputation for rain and Portugal's actual downpours. His twelfth collection reveals how attention to small details can make ordinary life feel almost magical.
Genres: american, contemporary, poetry, 21st-century
Vibes: intimate, lyrical, thought-provoking
Tropes: slice-of-life
Setting: Minneapolis, Portugal
Period: 21st-century
128 pages · Hardcover · Random House