When is one actually done with a book of poetry? I'm not really "done" with it, but I have indeed read all the poems in Billy Collins' "The Trouble with Poetry: And Other Poems." Actually, to be totally honest, and this is definitely more than anyone needs to know, I kept the book on the back of the toilet to read at my leisure (magazine articles are too long, imho). But you know what? I think Billy Collins would get a kick out of that. So there.
Also, if you want to get some really weird looks, might I recommend taking Cornel West's "Race Matters" to read at the gym, particularly in eastern North Carolina, particularly if you're white? I thought it was good; he doesn't really let much of anyone off the hook. I found the essay "The Pitfalls of Racial Reasoning" particularly compelling.
When is one actually done with a book of poetry? I'm not really "done" with it, but I have indeed read all the poems in Billy Collins' "The Trouble with Poetry: And Other Poems." Actually, to be totally honest, and this is definitely more than anyone needs to know, I kept the book on the back of the toilet to read at my leisure (magazine articles are too long, imho). But you know what? I think Billy Collins would get a kick out of that. So there.
Also, if you want to get some really weird looks, might I recommend taking Cornel West's "Race Matters" to read at the gym, particularly in eastern North Carolina, particularly if you're white? I thought it was good; he doesn't really let much of anyone off the hook. I found the essay "The Pitfalls of Racial Reasoning" particularly compelling.
3 comments:
This is so bizarre. As I left the house this morning, i took a look at, Race Matters sitting on my bookshelf (my keys were on that shelf) and remembered reading it in the Atlanta airport. An african american woman came up to me and asked me if I was a professor. I said no, and she said she'd never seen any white people but professors read books like that. When I told her I was a minister, she seemed kind of bummed.
hummmm....still working on book 4. You are good!
I absolutely love Billy Collins. I discovered him when Mr. M and I decided that a poetry reading at a local college would be a fun date. He's wonderful. (Confession: I have many crushes on middle-aged male poets.)
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