Billy Collins and the War on Pretension

Having read very little of Billy Collins’s poetry, it’s hard to recommend him or say much about the work (I like what I’ve seen, especially the parody of Irish poetry), but this interview makes me love the guy. Collins is maligned by the gutless academic crew and celebrated by the young writers who think they’re taking back poetry from the ivory tower. Both camps are frustrating and absurd, if you ask me, but I am always fascinated by anyone, or anything, that splits opinions, which Collins certainly does.