Poet Billy Collins to Participate in Midwest Literary Walk »WDET 101.9 FM

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For anyone who has tried, writing poetry can be difficult. It can be hard to tell if you’re actually writing something compelling — or if you’re even telling a cohesive story. Billy Collins is one of America’s most popular poets, according to Bruce Weber of The New York Times. He will appear at the Midwest Literary Walk at 4 p.m. on April 23 at the Washington Street Education Center Auditorium in Chelsea. The event is organized by the Chelsea District Library.

“I learned to write poetry by reading it, and I think that’s how you learn. Not by sitting at a seminar table, listening to a well-established poet, talking about his poetry, but by reading English poetry and becoming accustomed to the iambic meters of poetry”, – Billy Collins, former poet laureate and speaker at the Midwest Literary Walk.

Listen: How to write good poetry, according to an acclaimed poet.

Guest

Billy Collins is a former Guggenheim Fellow, Professor Emeritus at Lehman College, and served as Poet Laureate of the United States from 2001-2003.

Collins’ last three books of poetry broke poetry sales records. His latest book is “Whale Day: And Other Poems”.

“I learned to write poetry by reading it, and I think that’s how you learn. Not by sitting at a seminar table, listening to a well-established poet, talking about his poetry, but by reading English poetry and getting used to the iambic meters of poetry.