Home / Quotes / Quote by Billy Collins

Quote by Billy Collins

“I think what gets a poem going is an initiating line. Sometimes a first line will occur, and it goes nowhere; but other times - and this, I think, is a sense you develop - I can tell that the line wants to continue. If it does, I can feel a sense of momentum - the poem finds a reason for continuing.”

Author

Billy Collins

Billy Collins is a renowned American poet, born on March 22, 1941. His poetry is known for its simplicity, humor, and profound insights, making it popular among readers. Collins served as the United States Poet Laureate and taught at several universities. more

“The poem is not, as someone put it, deflective of entry. But the real question is, 'What happens to the reader once he or she gets inside the poem?' That's the real question for me, is getting the reader into the poem and then taking the reader somewhere, because I think of poetry as a kind of form of travel writing.”

Thinking Writing Kind Real Happens Form Reader Entry Travel Writing Real Questions

Author:Billy Collins

“There are interesting forms of difficulty, and there are unprofitable forms of difficulty. I mean, I enjoy some difficult poetry, but some of it is impenetrable and I actually wouldn't want to penetrate it if I could, perhaps.”

Ifs Want Mean Form Enjoy Difficult Interesting Difficulty If I Could Penetrate

Author:Billy Collins

“There must of course be a relationship between translating and making poems of your own, but what it is I just don't know.”

Knows Courses Translate

Author:Robert Fitzgerald

“Well, with the French language, which I understood and spoke, however imperfectly, and read in great quantities, at certain times, the matter I suppose was slightly different from either Latin or Greek.”

Wells Different Matter Certain Language Understood Greek Spokes Latin Quantity French Language

Author:Robert Fitzgerald

Quote by Billy Collins

Author

You May Also Like