Billy Collins

What Is The Point Of A Poet Laureate?

Andrew Losowsky | Posted 10.11.2011

Andrew Losowsky

The U.S. Poet Laureate is "the nation's official lightning rod for the poetic impulse of Americans" - that is, according to the Library of Congress, which each year selects the holder of the position. What does that description mean?

White House Poetry Reading Leaked! Billy Collins, Elizabeth Alexander, and Secret Rejection Letter

Anis Shivani | Posted 07.10.2011

Anis Shivani

The White House poetry reading is on May 11. But PoetryLeaks got a hold of the goings-on before the big day!

Obamas To Celebrate Artists With White House Poetry Night

AP | Posted 07.05.2011

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, will celebrate American poetry and prose with a gathering of poets, musicians and artists...

The Achilles Heel of the Kindle

Pamela Newton | Posted 06.06.2011

Pamela Newton

I am one of those book lovers unsettled by Kindles. But now I think I've finally spotted an actual weakness in the Kindle.

Dear Radio Diary: Behind the Scenes at Boomer Alley Radio

Sharon Glassman | Posted 05.25.2011

Sharon Glassman

Dear Radio Diary: I didn't want to jinx it, so I haven't written about this until now. But seeing as we've just been signed on for another year, he...

Is American Poetry At A Dead-End?

Anis Shivani | Posted 05.25.2011

Anis Shivani

"Is American poetry at a dead-end? Have American poets betrayed the great legacy of modernism? Why or why not?

The E-Book Ugly Stick

Travis Nichols | Posted 05.25.2011

Travis Nichols

As sales of e-books on various platforms continue to rise -- Publisher's Weekly reported a 176% increase over the past year -- poetry appears to be getting lost in the shuffle.

Poetry And eBooks: Will Poems Ever Work In eBook Formatting?

AP | HILLEL ITALIE | Posted 05.25.2011

NEW YORK — Billy Collins, one of the country's most popular poets, had never seen his work in e-book form until he recently downloaded his latest co...

Writers Who Teach: Ten Novel Professors (PHOTOS)

Huffington Post | Natalie Sudikoff | Posted 05.25.2011

Want to learn creative writing from a famous novelist? How about poetry from a poet laureate? Here are ten famous contemporary writers who are also pr...

David Lehman's Incestuous Coterie: Why the New 'Best American Poetry' Sucks Even More Than Its Twenty-One Predecessors

Anis Shivani | Posted 05.25.2011

Anis Shivani

For years, the Best American Poetry series has been on a downward slope (using slope in the most generous sense of the word). For its 2009 edition, it seems to have reached a final resting point.

Neil Gaiman Dust-Up Raises Questions About Authors and Speaking Fees

Will Weaver | Posted 05.25.2011

Will Weaver

Neil Gaiman recently caused a fuss in Minnesota by accepting $45,000 for a guest appearance at a library. "Minnesota Nice" quickly went away as Gaiman was tarred with several brushes.

Calabash Celebrates Ten Years of Words by the Sea

Nina Sankovitch | Posted 05.25.2011

Nina Sankovitch

Memorial Day is coming and one of the most exciting places to be for the Memorial Day weekend is at the Calabash International Literary Festival, now in its tenth year.

Thanksgiving Poems By Billy Collins

Posted 05.25.2011

TWO THANKSGIVING POEMS BY BILLY COLLINS Reprinted with permission from "The Dreadest Feast: Writers on Enduring the Holidays" published by Stewart, ...