3.5
Water, Water
ByPublisher 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?
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesWater, Water Reviews
3.5
“I don’t know if I’ve outgrown Billy Collins or if he’s lost his distinct poetic voice, but I didn’t like it as much as other works I’ve read by him. He’s become increasingly self-referential, alluding several times in this book to his knack for observing the mundane. It starts to feel a bit self-congratulatory. At a certain point, it also feels lacking in earnestness. If you’re constantly writing about how YOU see the world differently than others, it becomes inherently condescending. Sure, maybe the READER sees an envelope. Well to BILLY COLLINS it’s SO MUCH MORE and in fact it’s a BLANK SLATE for poetry so HE gets to have a little chuckle about it in his book. I also couldn’t believe this is the first time he’s written a poem titled “Breakfast.” It’s kind of his brand to write about daily rituals, and he clearly knows it. Oh well. I still like it better than Musical Tables.”
“This is my second Billy Collins collection and he’s quickly entering my top 5 poets it seems. This is a newer collection in his later years and he’s still turning ordinary moments into important reflections, or clever memorable moments. The pieces range from beautiful, nostalgic, funny and reflective on writing and poetry. I read this in about 90 minutes so well worth the quick sitting.”
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
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