Questions About Angels

By Diane Stein

Book Overview

Billy Collins has emerged as the most beloved American poet since Robert Frost, garnering critical acclaim and broad popular appeal. Annie Proulx admits, "I have never before felt possessive about a poet, but I am fiercely glad that Billy Collins is ours." This special, limited edition celebrates Billy Collins's years as U.S. Poet Laureate. Questions About Angels--one of the books that helped establish and secure his reputation and popularity during the 1990s--is remarkable for its wry, inquisitive voice and its sheer imaginative range. Edward Hirsch selected this classic book for the National Poetry Series, and each of Collins's poems-from his meditation on forgetfulness to his musings on the behavior of angels-is an exploration of imaginative possibilities. Whether reading him for the first time or the fiftieth, this collector's edition is a must-have for anyone interested in the poet the New York Times calls simply "the real thing."

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0822956985
• ISBN13: 9780822956983
• Release Date: January 1999
• Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Press
• Length: 88 Pages
• Weight: 0.38 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Should be Required Reading for jaded citizens

Several weeks ago I first discovered Billy Collins. A newspaper article had a quotation where he discussed the fact that he uses subjects and predicates when writing poetry. This peculiar poetic quirk led me to go online to discover that poetry. There I found the poem "Nostalgia", which is included in this book.I read it, enjoyed it, passed it on to friends. Then a strange thing happened - lines from Nostalgia kept cropping...

No reference materials required

I don't read too much poetry anymore, I'm too short of time to spend it checking an encyclopedia to understand who the poet is talking about. Often today's poetry becomes a contest between the writer and reader as to who knows the most about ancient Greeks or Babylonia. But along comes Billy Collins, a poet who speaks my language. I related immediately with the subject of his poem, "Forgetfulness". The second stanza describes...

If you believe you don?t like poetry?.

author of DREAMING YOUR REAL SELF, DREAM BACK YOUR LIFE, and WHO'S CRAZY, ANYWAY?Billy Collins takes the ordinary and makes it extraordinary. His juxtaposition of images and ideas is whimsical, surprising, and always delightful--from the simple act of weighing his dog to a single angel dancing on the head of a pin in time with the music of a jazz combo. This is poetry to read aloud, to let it touch you deeply, to make...

rejected but dog loyal

I missed the final guest editor's cut with a batch of poems sent to Alaska Quarterly Review, finding out only later that that editor was Billy Collins. Still, he is one of only a few modern poets that I not only buy for myself, but buy for gifts. People who didn't think they even liked poetry have their little peepers blown wide open by this guy. Simple clear language, luminous imagery, and the generous sort of humor...

The Magic continues.

After reading Picnic, Lightning and loving it, I went searching for more of Collins' work. "Questions About Angels" did not disappoint. While I believe that Picnic is a more polished and more accessible collection of poems, "Angels" left me with many favorites and with the continued amazement at how Collins' language can cut so deeply to the heart of so many matters. He remains my favorite contemporary poet and I would...