Progymnasmata

This is my review of Billy Collins' book Sailing Alone Around the Room . It contains selected and new poems. Collins is America's poet laureate.

A Blogger Reviews a Poet

It's not that you don't discuss death.
You do.
And, of course, you're self-conscious.
You all are.

But you're funny, Billy. I smiled the best
kind of smile when I read your poem on
the long titles of some Chinese poems
that you were reading at the time.

And there's the one where you undress
the poet of Amherst, and another about
quoting Humbert.

My favorites are "Directions" and "Marginalia";
I scribbled next to each.
I [bracketed] a stanza in the first
and wrote an airy "AWWAH"
next to the line about "egg salad" in the second.
If a poem can be "cute"
and meaningful at the exact same moment, Billy. . .
you can pull it off.

Thanks for Sailing Alone Around the Room. I tried to picture
Mr. Slocum reading your
book he rounded
The Cape of Good Hope
on his way home.