Billy Collins enlivens Mead Chapel

Author: Polly Johnson

Billy Collins, the U.S. poet laureate from 2001 to 2003, spoke to a Mead Chapel audience of students, visiting parents, faculty and staff last Friday, delivering an eloquent, thought-provoking, inspiring and often side-splittingly funny reading of his poems.

Reginald L. Cook Professor of American Literature Brett Millier introduced Collins as "the most widely read contemporary poet today." Before Millier spoke, Katy Abbott, co-faculty head of Ross Commons, spoke about the "Readings in Ross: The Fall Poetry Series" program that has been in the process of development for the past year. Abbott and her husband, co-faculty head of Ross Commons Steve Abbott "were inspired to contact Billy Collins and to invite him for a reading during a conversation with a Ross parent during a Fall Family Weekend last year." In an effort to gradually introduce the poetry series, Ross Commons sent "all entering first-year students in Ross a collection of contemporary poems selected and introduced by Billy Collins," according to Mrs. Abbott. At the start of the year, new students met in small groups to discuss the poems they had read and the role of poetry in contemporary society.

The lecture was sponsored by the Abernethy Lecture Fund, which was established in 1927 to bring American writers to Middlebury. Millier explained that the annual lecture or reading has been given by distinguished poets, critics and fiction writers. The first speaker in the series was Robert Frost in 1927.

In her introduction, Millier described Collins' poems as "broadly accessible" and containing complete "technical sophistication."

Not more than 30 seconds into Collins' speech, the audience was captivated by his humor, warmth and personality. He noted that "the first poem is a welcoming poem to the reader, an acknowledgement of his presence," and then proceeded to read his introductory selection, followed by many others. His poignant poems and engaging reading style allowed for a great amount of audience participation. The laughter raucous at times, and the silence of audience reflection was equally powerful. Attendee Peter Hamlin, associate professor of Music and Music Department chair, said, "Collins seems like a magician to me - he puts ordinary objects in front of you that you think you recognize, and all of a sudden they become something else entirely."

Gary Margolis, director and psychologist at the Counseling and Human Relations Center and an associate professor of English, was equally moved by Collins. Margolis, a poet himself, will be reading his poetry as a part of the Ross Poetry Series on Nov. 8. He agreed that "this was Middlebury at its best. [Collins'] combination of being able to empathize in poems that are smart, wry and so cognizant of the images that we surround ourselves with, and to be able to put it in a language that is gentle and rhythmic so that people can enter the poems with him, gives him a very unique place in North American poetry."

Collins showed a great range in his poems. He read two poems about dogs, a humorous haiku, his title poem - "The Trouble With Poetry" - and a work that cracked everyone up in Mead Chapel, "The Lanyard." His poems mixed the pleasures of mundane life with humor and hints of tenderness and deeper, underlying meanings. In speaking of the appropriate time to write poems about death, he quoted Martha Stewart: "It's good at holiday time or anytime."

Students were equally impressed with Collins. Will Martin '07.5 said of the readings, "Having not ever read or even heard of Billy Collins and being generally skeptical at the idea of a poetry reading, I found his 'lecture' satirical and funny while remaining emotionally moving. I liked his conscious play and engagement of the reader through his masterful perception of everyday life."

The question and answer section was as enjoyable as the reading. He explained the process by which he was elected to be the Poet Laureate, as well as how he goes about writing his poems. In explaining how he writes a successful poem, he said, "I try to read my poems as a reader would. As I write the poem, I have to keep flipping over to the reader's side."

Overall, Collins' lecture was a huge success. The positive feedback was overwhelming. Millier stated it particularly well: "Collins is well-known for his sense of humor, both on the page and in public readings, and he did not disappoint us. Several of the poems he read brought the house down with laughter. I remember 'The Lanyard' in particular in that regard. But he is also a serious, well-read and intelligent poet whose humorous poems almost always say something serious and moving and important about how it feels to be human."