Why read on Fable?
Publisher Description
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • From the former Poet Laureate of the United States and New York Times bestselling author of Aimless Love comes a wondrous new collection of poems focused on the joys and mysteries of daily life.
“Among the best poems that [Billy] Collins has ever written.”—Maureen Corrigan, NPR
“Witty, wry and tender when it hurts, Water, Water is a pleasure to read and easy to give.”—The Washington Post
“Collins remains the most companionable of poetic companions.”—The New York Times
One of People’s Best New Books
In this collection of sixty new poems, Billy Collins writes about the beauties and ironies of everyday experience. A poem is best, he feels, when it begins in clarity but ends with a whiff of mystery.
In Water, Water, Collins combines his vigilant attention and respect for the peripheral to create moments of delight. Common and uncommon events are captured here with equal fascination, be it a cat leaning to drink from a swimming pool, a nurse calling a name in a waiting room, or an astronaut reciting Emily Dickinson from outer space. With his trademark lyrical informality, Collins asks us to slow down and glimpse the elevated in the ordinary, the odd in the familiar. It’s no surprise that The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal both call Collins one of America’s favorite poets.
The Monet Conundrum
Is every one of these poems
different from the others
he asked himself,
as the rain quieted down,
or are they all the same poem,
haystack after haystack
at different times of day,
different shadows and shades of hay?
“Among the best poems that [Billy] Collins has ever written.”—Maureen Corrigan, NPR
“Witty, wry and tender when it hurts, Water, Water is a pleasure to read and easy to give.”—The Washington Post
“Collins remains the most companionable of poetic companions.”—The New York Times
One of People’s Best New Books
In this collection of sixty new poems, Billy Collins writes about the beauties and ironies of everyday experience. A poem is best, he feels, when it begins in clarity but ends with a whiff of mystery.
In Water, Water, Collins combines his vigilant attention and respect for the peripheral to create moments of delight. Common and uncommon events are captured here with equal fascination, be it a cat leaning to drink from a swimming pool, a nurse calling a name in a waiting room, or an astronaut reciting Emily Dickinson from outer space. With his trademark lyrical informality, Collins asks us to slow down and glimpse the elevated in the ordinary, the odd in the familiar. It’s no surprise that The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal both call Collins one of America’s favorite poets.
The Monet Conundrum
Is every one of these poems
different from the others
he asked himself,
as the rain quieted down,
or are they all the same poem,
haystack after haystack
at different times of day,
different shadows and shades of hay?
24 Reviews
3.5
Kate Koszulinski
Created about 1 month agoShare
Report
“this was so disappointingly mid LOL
there’s like three poems i found to be earth shattering
the rest were just perplexing and talking around in circles to nothing
idk i think im just too loyal to mary oliver to like it”tupperwarelids
Created about 1 month agoShare
Report
“wow, life IS worth living!!!!!!!!!”
BritanyGayle
Created about 1 month agoShare
Report
“Well written and quirky poems which is my favorite. My two favorite poems were Adam Names the Fish and BC/AD.”
Schubydoo24
Created about 1 month agoShare
Report
“I won this in a giveaway. I’ve been dabbling more in poetry lately but have not read a lot of it. A lot of the references and deeper meaning went over my head. I did enjoy some of the poems. It was an easy read. Part 4 was my favorite overall. I really liked Display Case, Zero Grannies, The Monet Conundrum, If/Then, Incipit, and The Brooklyn Dodgers. I feel like this collection excelled at juxtaposing the mundane with the extraordinary but still left me wishing I had felt more emotional connection with the text.”
Mackenzie Perry
Created about 1 month agoShare
Report
“I don’t usually enjoy poetry, but I enjoyed quite a few of these. No overall rating (except Fable, because you have to make a selection) because I loved some poems but others not so much. My favorite was “The Cardinal” followed closely by “Once in a Dog’s Age”
Given a 5 because there were several poems I really liked or loved”
About Billy Collins
Billy Collins is a former Poet Laureate of the United States. He is the author of twelve collections of poetry, including the bestsellers Aimless Love, The Trouble with Poetry, and Sailing Alone Around the Room. He is also the editor of Poetry 180, 180 More, and Bright Wings. A former Distinguished Professor at Lehman College of the City University of New York, Collins also served as New York State Poet. In 2016 he was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He lives in Florida with his wife, Suzannah.
Other books by Billy Collins
Start a Book Club
Start a public or private book club with this book on the Fable app today!FAQ
Do I have to buy the ebook to participate in a book club?
Why can’t I buy the ebook on the app?
How is Fable’s reader different from Kindle?
Do you sell physical books too?
Are book clubs free to join on Fable?
How do I start a book club with this book on Fable?
Similar Books
Save to a list
0
/30
0
/100
Private List