COLLINS Billy

COLLINS, Bill (Collins, Billy) (p. 1941), American poet, the poet-laureate of the U.S. (2001). This is a very honorable title given together with the post for one year with the provision of office in the Library of Congress in Washington. John Updike said about Collins's poetry: 'Transparent, always astounding, more serious than they seem at first glance, they describe all the worlds that exist in the present or have been in the past and those that do not exist'.
Billy Collins was born March 22, 1941 in New York (New York, USA). In 1963 he graduated from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester (Massachusetts) with a bachelor's degree, and in 1971 received his doctorate in philology specialty 'Romantic Poetry' at the University of California. In 1971 he taught English literature at Lehman College, City University of New York. In addition, he is an honorary professor at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville (NY) School of the Arts and the Burren in Ireland

. Collins published eight collections of poetry, . including: "Apple, . amazed Paris "(The Apple that Astonished Paris, . 1988), "Questions about angels" (Questions about Angels, . 1991) - winner of the National Contest of poetry 1990; Art sink "(The Art of Drowning, . 1995), "Picnic, . lightning "(Picnic, . Lightning, . 1997); "In the room under sail alone: New and Selected Poems" (Sailing Alone Around the Room: New and Selected Poems, . 2001) and "Nine Horses" (Nine Horses, . 2002),
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Collins - author, enjoying the recognition of intellectuals and eminent poets such as Edward Hirsch, applauded the book "The Art of sink": 'Billy Collins - American original, a poet, a metaphysician and a provocateur, cunning interrogator. He - mocker, praise of emptiness, and his poetry, clever, ironic, well built, pointing to the deepest mysteries of human existence '. At the same time, Collins is popular and among the general public, and that very few people can among modern poets.

Collins' poems have appeared in various anthologies, books and periodicals. One of his works were included in the anthology Best American Poetry 1992, another - in the same anthology for 1993.

Collins awarded a fellowship at New York Foundation of Arts, National Endowment for Art and the Guggenheim Foundation. He received a number of famous prizes, awarded by the magazine 'Poetri Magazine' (Bess Hokin Prize, Frederick Bock Prize and the Levinson Prize). In 1992 the New York Public Library has chosen his 'Literary Lion'.