Billy Collins believes in the beauty of short poems. He says they show how poetry can squeeze a lot of meaning into tight spaces. His new collection of short poems is called "Musical Tables," and ...

All children are natural poets, but “unfortunately, our poetry instincts often get beaten out of us by bad education and also by that harrowing phenomenon called adolescence,” says Billy Collins, in ...

Midway through a conversation with poet Billy Collins, talk turns to the topic of inspiration, and how a writer recognizes the small moments around which one might build a poem. “It’s a good question ...

T.S. Eliot wrote that April is the cruelest month. It also happens to be National Poetry Month. Many schoolchildren will be admonished to pay attention to poetry these next few weeks - read, analyze, ...

Billy Collins says dogs have a “cheering” effect on a poem. He recommends that more dour writers add a dog to their work. “Bring a dog into a poem to brighten up the room,” he says. That little ...