The Trouble With Poetry and Other Poems by Billy Collins

Reviewed by Jackie Ryan

Click the photo to purchase The Trouble With Poetry and Other Poems

Also available in Drew University Library's collection, Call Number: 811 C712t 

            When immersed in the poetry of Billy Collins, a reader may feel as though they are sitting across the kitchen table from him, listening in on his early morning thoughts about the world, as he looks out the window, sunlight filtering in across his cup of coffee and glowing cigarette. Or perhaps she may envision herself walking through the park, along side Collins, contemplating the genius of swans. Despite how one may picture the experience of reading The Trouble With Poetry, and Other Poems, an undeniable truth remains: the reader is drawn into Collins’ world and held captive to his observations like a younger brother would sit in awe, enraptured by the adventurous tales of an idolized older sibling. Speaking of a pair of pepper and salt shakers, he says to his reader, “I wondered if they had become friends / after all these years / or if they were still strangers to one another / like you and I / who manage to be known and unknown / to each other at the same time.” Collins draws the reader into this uncanny relationship, making his audience simultaneously pleased to be in his confidence, but still thirsting for a more intimate acquaintance with the poet.  

            Collins has a remarkable hold on the ordinary, and presents such mundane topics as his daily routine, which often includes breakfast and some time spent writing, or his observations of floral wallpaper, in such a way as to make the reader wish she had noticed their inherent beauty on her own. Collins pauses to notice the “clear ovals of a glass of water,” a “stack of white towels” and “brimming spoons of milk” and instills in them as much consequence as a “bombed-out city” and the constellations that loom over us in the heavens. His poetry makes greatness not only comprehensible, but attainable for anyone who is able to notice the beauty in a “sip of wine” or “white cabinets full of glass.” 

            The poems in this collection certainly touch a greatness only acquired through both the poet’s knowledge of his own talent, and recognition still of the fact that he is an ordinary person with an ordinary (and often mundane) routine. His experiences are made noteworthy, however, in his acute observations and sensitive perception. He is all too aware of the trouble with poetry, as the title of the collection suggests, and fears, perhaps, that eventually his work will graze the imitation of those who have come before him, causing him “to break into the poems of others / with a flashlight and a ski mask.” In a poem called “The Introduction,” he pokes fun at those poets who feel the need to infuse their words with outlandish references and allusions that need to be explained in elaborate introductions. Collins does not clutter his work with any such tactic. His writing is clear, concise and simple, yet possesses a wit and beauty that defines exactly what the reader thinks every day but cannot quite put into words herself. He approaches topics such as loneliness, death, frustration and boredom with an unfailing sense of humor while still acknowledging the gravity of what he is describing. After reading The Trouble With Poetry, one feels as if they have known Collins forever because of his remarkably clear insights, observations, and on a more technical note, his diction. At the same time, the reader is in awe at Collins’ power of perception and his ability to communicate so well both the beauty and sadness which we all see but cannot explain.