Billy Collins - Litany

Complete video at: fora.tv/2008/04/07/A_Selection...
Former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins discusses stealing material from other writers, and reads his poem, "Litany."
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Poet Billy Collins is a unique literary figure - a widely read contemporary poet. The former US Poet Laureate and New York State Poet has received fellowships from the New York Foundation for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Guggenheim Foundation, though his most dramatic honors come from a wide and appreciative readership. Collins's poetry collections, including The Trouble With Poetry and Other Poems, Nine Horses, Sailing Alone Around the Room, and Picnic, Lightening, have broken records for poetry sales. His writing is marked by inventiveness beyond traditional poetry forms with ironic twists and lyrical turns of phrase that resonate powerfully. An advocate for integrating poetry into everyday life, Collins compiled the anthologies Poetry 180 and 180 More with poems for every day of a typical school year. Billy Collins has been a professor of English at Lehman College of the City University of New York since 1968 - City Arts & Lectures
Billy Collins is the author of several books of poetry and two anthologies of contemporary poetry, including The Trouble with Poetry: And Other Poems; The Arts of Drowning, which was a finalist for the Lenore Marshall prize; and Questions About Angels, which won the National Poetry Series in 1990. He is also a distinguished professor of English at Lehman College (CUNY). Collins served as US Poet Laureate (2001-2003) and as New York State Poet Laureate (2004-2006). Collins' poetry has appeared in The American Poetry Review, Harper's, The New Yorker, and The Atlantic, among many other journals and periodicals. He has received fellowships from the New York Foundation for the Arts, The National Endowment for the Arts, and the Guggenheim Foundation. He has won several awards and prizes.

[@slepycitron]

What a lovely, dry delivery.

[@ClockworkBanana]

See, the written poem alone is just so beautiful, and has such expressive and well thought-out imagery. It's almost sappy! But then I watched this... and realized how hilarious it is. I'm embarrassed I only ever looked at it one way xD What a stitch.

[@Garrettk41]

I read this poem at my sister's wedding last year.

[@JenniferDick_educator]

Billy Collins is so brilliant. Funny, tragic, ordinary moments--it's what makes his poetry great.

[@MyLatestEscape]

Ah, I loved this poem forever, hearing it spoken by BC just made my year.

[@janeausten2908]

He is perfectly aware that the poem, regardless of his original intention, is stunning. He knows.

[@alexiskiri9693]

I love the fact that it is a parady of poetry.

[@edd3356]

Your mind will be blown if you read this poem without his commentary and the almost-too-responsive laugher of the audience. I read it in a state of seriousness and was absolutely speechless.

[@davidpei136]

my favorite poem 10 years ago and my favorite poem still to this day

[@Squeege85]

Billy Collins is one of my favorite poets.

[@Elensila2718]

God, how I love Billy Collins!

[@IrvingBabe]

You saw me post the 3 year old saying this poem. Here is the original author saying it. Fascinating how differently they are read.

[@tonydanteye]

oh my god i can't believe all this great material is on youtube! hail the freedom of expression made more free by this form of communication.

[@EdT.-xt6yv]

Sponsor is the irony?

[@TBBrickYT]

Not only is the poem great, but his world-weary delivery is mahvelous.

[@themdg]

An excellent poem. The word "somehow" makes the whole thing, for me.

[@baalynduh]

It's funny, i've read this poem a million times but i never saw the humor in it until I listened to him reading it. :D

[@roxanneivey]

Thank you so much for posting this! I saw Collins in KC during his reign as poet laureate, and have never laughed so much in my life : ) Now I can share this with friends who weren't as fortunate...

[@rckissfist]

I love hearing him read

[@napalmnacey]

@davidvcar Well, the three year old boy does an earnest, straightforward reading. Mr. Collins reads it in his original intention - sardonically and dryly. It gives the poem an entirely different feeling. It becomes absolutely hilarious. That was the point. The kid, he's friggin' talented. But Mr. Collins knows what his poem is about, and reads it that way.

[@jeremym3892]

I have this saved for whenever I need to crack a smile

[@MyLatestEscape]

I love how he looks so fucking pleased with himself at the end, there. I would be too. Good job, BC, good job.

[@monologtube]

MyLatestEscape Seems to me he was smiling at the people that were laughing so much at it like it was supposed to be "a funny poem."

[@MyLatestEscape]

***** It is a funny poem (along with being a little poignant). "There is no way you are the pine-scented air". What do you think he was aiming for there?

[@monologtube]

MyLatestEscape You're right... I guess I was thinking mainly of the people laughing at the end when it's more poignant than funny.

[@starberryBunky]

i tear up from how amazing this is

[@hawthornroot]

the first time i heard litany, was from s utube clip where a toddler reciting it! that’s when i fell in love with this poem!!!

[@FasterFaster196]

It sounded more like a beautiful and poignant love song when little Samuel read it. How funny. I love both renditions.

[@LandonKingtincup]

It was nice of Kevin Spacey to read this!

[@catchaotica]

He can rewrite any of my poems anytime.

[@orlylevy33]

I did not know Billy Collins but he is great!!

[@SportsGenerator]

Oh my gosh, I thought no one else would make that connection! YES

[@gwalsingh]

Absolutley brilliant

[@traditionsHome]

Lovely like the morning dew, the crystal filled with wine until I dropped it!

[@priyanshuofficial]

I fell in love with collins after the first time i read this.

[@imadkhachan5639]

Amazing.

[@TheVampirefreak215]

3 yr old knows this poem at heart

[@eatsleepmusic]

It's funny, I never imagined it evoking this kind of laughter (and I still don't think it's laugh our loud funny now). I sort of always thought of it as a quiet, smirking kind of humor... I guess it all depends on how you internalize it.

[@albertloan396]

There is a different kind of bathos the poem evokes when read by oneself, however, in a public setting surrounded by others, the shared experience magnifies the infectiousness of the laughter. I think it can be enjoyed both ways.

[@GS195]

A Prairie Home Companion brought me here. After 20 years.

[@PicturePerfectJames]

Blly Collins is a national treasure....he's got some great material on Praire Home Companion.....Love "Marco Polo"

[@journeymanjim]

Very good poet, he's one of my favourites.

[@domclarke92]

the most important part of poetry is connecting with your reader, how can poetry be great if it is not enjoyed, liked or has any impact on you? The fact that Collins is concerned with his audience is one of the very reasons he is so successful. You cannot deny that, as a poet yourself.

[@dirkplankchest1796]

Very nice! So tongue and cheek.

[@kelseaknechy2711]

Raul Duke the proper phrase is “tounge in cheek”

[@i_guess109]

@@kelseaknechy2711 the proper phrase is "tongue in cheek"

[@1215marmartinez]

this guy's great!!!

[@bulgarianmimi]

LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE

[@Frues]

that is a perfect way to show people that love poetry involving comparison is absolutely overdone

[@HussainAlwael]

I came here because of my favorite teacher.

[@cateliper3588]

Me too! Did you study at Lehman?

[@HussainAlwael]

@@cateliper3588 MSU

[@Glhrd]

I love this man. End.

[@AccioNerdfighter]

He is a genius

[@Jan96106]

If anyone wants to hear a serious (non-comic) modern use of the Petrarchan Conceit, listen to Auden's Funeral Blues. But first make sure you have some tissue handy.

[@mandypac2854]

This is like a photo-bombed Thomas Kinkade painting. Hilarious!

[@user-fw2dd2cy3c]

This strikes me as a brilliant comment...but I don't know why...

[@burk415]

Geat video by the way.

[@JerBushell89]

@thecoolstuff99 they are all references to things that make you feel at home or at peace. Stereotypical ones at least, for some people, including myself, i can sit and listen to rain patter on the roof for hours.

[@OntoitinThere]

@quintopia You are welcome! Definitely there is humor in this poem no matter how one wants to interpret it.

[@TheFartoholic]

Poem starts at 4:09!

[@sixthsonofsevensins]

@burk415 I completely agreed with what you said and yet, I must point out "Don't put people down for liking(or dislikeing) someone or something you(like or) don't agree with. It just makes you look infantile. " Sorry but for every truth we speak we too let slip a lie.

[@SherriSLC]

I am the lanyard and the half-eaten biscuit.

[@teegi45]

My new favorite poet!

[@hswatnik]

slick as the top of his sconce-

[@tattoofthesun]

@llamala2010 agreed on each point, especially the last; most importantly the last.

[@JerBushell89]

@Arcangelo that was how he wanted it read. dryly.... dryly and slowly

[@deathcamp1]

to me this poem isn't funny at all, for me it's more beauty BECAUSE of it's strange comparisons, almost like a nervous lover fumbling for words.

[@jvnvch]

I would like to hear this read by Christopher Walken. 5 *****

[@Olhamo]

oh yes! That would be the best possible reading of it!

[@seed_of_the_woman]

fantasies of fairies in full green gardens, ghosts through stone garden gates, immersed churches noble and high soaring to the stars reaching past sky? less ambitious not so momentous, it was a sunday sunny and cool a level stroll through the county a road less taken hardly traveled beside an orchard long abandoned we eat someone’s summer plums. no one’s now till kingdom comes. love, david 👑

[@bitulok3131]

Your good at the poem

[@quintopia]

@OntoitinThere Thanks for this interpretation. I nearly shat myself picturing Jesus making a little pigeon-poo on the general's head!

[@OntoitinThere]

The meaning of this poem to me is rather deep and yet simple at the same time. No matter how one cuts it up and serves it (religion), Jesus will always be the bread and the wine - yes,he is the wine - how lucky is that! Jesus is not and never will be the pine scented air (modern Christmas with all of its fixings). Imagery can stick but generally means something different to everyone with the exception of a few classic examples. God is whatever we perceive him or her and even it to be.

[@robinjoanna]

fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck. Billy Collins is a god. He is an Olympian and the master of my soul. And body. And I will love him forever. His eyes, everyone! Grr.

[@lbr808]

@saucedo123172 Were you paying attention?

[@MisterTownsend]

@CaptainLights but its kinda satirical about love and relationships and whatnont

[@alexthebold]

Is there an actual poem coming? Or is it him just talking about the poem until I die? Oh, here is the poem at about 1:30. Christ ...

[@michellehappel9854]

Wow, a whole minute and a half "wasted", while you were trying to be so productive here on KZbin.

[@nicktobin1715]

Is this poem in any of his books?

[@carolynsmith9095]

Also in aimless love

[@gmistal]

this poem is interesting

[@gailms1]

Why can't I open this?

[@iharky]

Hi Gail, just checking in after 4 years to see if you've made any progress in opening this?

[@OntoitinThere]

@JerBushell89 If you interpret my interpretation of the way I interpreted his poem, I believe you will find humor there as well! Life is a poem. It would be interesting to know what Billy Collins thought about this...perhaps he will have the last laugh!

[@MisterTownsend]

@CaptainLights just absorb it.

[@sharpneziiv9987]

I little sister even laughed :)

[@kerron68]

didnt get it.

[@XrandomsoliloquyX]

That's the point.

[@recklessragdoll]

@loosesalute71 You need to look up the word 'pun'.

[@AlecwarddrawcelA]

hahahahah! GREAT!

[@burk415]

My response was in good taste.... Not really sure what you are getting at but I would love to find one other person with your opinion.

[@ryantk520]

Yes!! ur totally right lololol

[@javagal65]

His hair over his left ear, makes me laugh!

[@sharpneziiv9987]

my sorry

[@Parthianking]

@aqariumperson: Thanks, but I love the intro! It not only brings light to the poem itself, but also reveals the mind of a man stunningly gifted in language. Collins' constant "ums" come not from a lack of eloquence, but from precisely the opposite. His performance is a perfect example of what happens when a linguistic prodigy speaks off the cuff--a sort of logjam of concepts and expressions, with every phrase being a kind of truce within a mind nearly tortured by its own brilliance.

[@theschizoidman]

@lukaki26 That's because all other nationals see is American TV and movies and not actually know Americans. Most of my friends are all dry. ;)

[@tompouceful]

@llamala2010 You're so right. It's not great. It's to tiny to be great. It's so tiny in it's tinyness, that it becomes bad, it's no poetry at all, it's bad to be great, it's great and to tiny by any means, in fact it's not there but inside the clever satire, but than bad, thank you for the intellectual wake up call. In nearly make the mistake to find it beautiful.

[@sunshiney99]

Interesting. I'd always read and heard this poem in my head quite seriously, without the laughter and comical nature present in this video.

[@marsinpisces]

@lukaki26 It's irish humor.

[@jgonnerman85]

My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun.

[@macnolds]

@kerron68 as collins states in his pre-amble here, he's taking a jab at a very old and well-known form of poetry where the author compares his lover to various images in nature in order to flatter her. the title of the piece, "litany," suggests such poems are boring, tedious lists like those in church processes. so he makes fun of this by choosing strange, unromantic images to compare his lover to. he embellishes himself and remarks on how absurd it is to compare his lover to prettier things.

[@Arcangelo]

Difference between a WRITER and a performer.

[@kerron68]

@macnolds thanks man! i'm not good with these things....

[@kiddeongoober]

very cute and funny

[@MercuutioApex]

@eyewould I'm pretty sure that I'm justified in saying that you, my friend, are completely and utterly wrong.

[@dws551]

Curious how the word litany has moved in meaning from a prayer of supplication to a comical list. So the English language moves on....

[@JerBushell89]

@OntoitinThere you may read too far into things. Billy Collins writes ironic and dry humorous tones into his works. Not too sure if he was actually referencing, no matter how losely, religion.

[@numberonealcove]

The text is funny on the surface. I find it hard to miss that. But it is not MERELY funny. The thing turns around Collins' "somehow" in the last line. The somehow indicates that belief survives analysis. But sadly, it does not survive this recitation, which Collins has made MERELY funny.

[@buzbyX]

ok.....yes, and...?

[@sami2603]

@ptercottontail I don't think the 3 year old is able to read.

[@thecoolstuff99]

"I am the sound of rain on the roof" what does that mean?

[@RumblyGreenEarth]

uhhhhhh. no.

[@KJrex2dot0]

no.