My favourite poet

His work has been featured in the Pushcart Prize anthology and has been chosen several times for the annual Best American Poetry series. My favorite poet is Billy Collins who was born in New York City in 1941. He is the author of several books of poetry. I think that all his works of poetry are quite interesting and rhyming. His poem is also very pleasant to read and recite. I think he is very brilliant and clever as he is able to create such poems. I like this poet because he can write many wonderful poems which I think they are interesting.

This poet leaves me an impression that he is very talented when I first see his photograph. After reading his poem and his background, I found out that he is really a talented poet. Hence, I started to like him and his poems. I found out that his poems are very popular. Thus, I like this poet.

This poet Billy Collins was born in New York City in 1941. He is the author of several books of poetry, including Ballistics (2008), She Was Just Seventeen (2006), The Trouble with Poetry (2005); Nine Horses (2002); Sailing Alone Around the Room: New and Selected Poems (2001); Picnic, Lightning (1998); The Art of Drowning (1995), which was a finalist for the Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize; Questions About Angels (1991), which was selected by Edward Hirsch for the National Poetry Series; The Apple That Astonished Paris (1988); Video Poems (1980); and Pokerface (1977).

Collins's poetry has appeared in anthologies, textbooks, and a variety of periodicals, including Poetry, American Poetry Review, American Scholar, Harper's, Paris Review, and The New Yorker.

In 2001, Collins was named U.S. Poet Laureate. His other honors and awards include fellowships from the New York Foundation for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Guggenheim Foundation. In 1992, he was chosen by the New York Public Library to serve as "Literary Lion". He has conducted summer poetry workshops in Ireland at University College Galway, and taught at Columbia University, Sarah Lawrence, and Lehman College, City University of New York. He lives in Somers, New York.

http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/278

Three poems by the poet:
1)Fishing on the Susquehanna in July
by Billy Collins

I have never been fishing on the Susquehanna
or on any river for that matter
to be perfectly honest.

Not in July or any month
have I had the pleasure--if it is a pleasure--
of fishing on the Susquehanna.

I am more likely to be found
in a quiet room like this one--
a painting of a woman on the wall,

a bowl of tangerines on the table--
trying to manufacture the sensation
of fishing on the Susquehanna.

There is little doubt
that others have been fishing
on the Susquehanna,

rowing upstream in a wooden boat,
sliding the oars under the water
then raising them to drip in the light.

But the nearest I have ever come to
fishing on the Susquehanna
was one afternoon in a museum in Philadelphia

when I balanced a little egg of time
in front of a painting
in which that river curled around a bend

under a blue cloud-ruffled sky,
dense trees along the banks,
and a fellow with a red bandanna

sitting in a small, green
flat-bottom boat
holding the thin whip of a pole.

That is something I am unlikely
ever to do, I remember
saying to myself and the person next to me.

Then I blinked and moved on
to other American scenes
of haystacks, water whitening over rocks,

even one of a brown hare
who seemed so wired with alertness
I imagined him springing right out of the frame.

http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/16497

2)Forgetfulness
by Billy Collins

The name of the author is the first to go
followed obediently by the title, the plot,
the heartbreaking conclusion, the entire novel
which suddenly becomes one you have never read,
never even heard of,

as if, one by one, the memories you used to harbor
decided to retire to the southern hemisphere of the brain,
to a little fishing village where there are no phones.

Long ago you kissed the names of the nine Muses goodbye
and watched the quadratic equation pack its bag,
and even now as you memorize the order of the planets,

something else is slipping away, a state flower perhaps,
the address of an uncle, the capital of Paraguay.

Whatever it is you are struggling to remember
it is not poised on the tip of your tongue,
not even lurking in some obscure corner of your spleen.

It has floated away down a dark mythological river
whose name begins with an L as far as you can recall,
well on your own way to oblivion where you will join those
who have even forgotten how to swim and how to ride a bicycle.

No wonder you rise in the middle of the night
to look up the date of a famous battle in a book on war.
No wonder the moon in the window seems to have drifted
out of a love poem that you used to know by heart.


http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/19754

3)Introduction to Poetry
by Billy Collins

I ask them to take a poem
and hold it up to the light
like a color slide

or press an ear against its hive.

I say drop a mouse into a poem
and watch him probe his way out,

or walk inside the poem's room
and feel the walls for a light switch.

I want them to waterski
across the surface of a poem
waving at the author's name on the shore.

But all they want to do
is tie the poem to a chair with rope
and torture a confession out of it.

They begin beating it with a hose
to find out what it really means.

http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/20177

Why I like the poem ' FOR I AM A METAPHOR'

I like the poem 'FOR I AM A METAPHOR' because it is poetically beautiful and it also rhyme very well. I feel that the poem runs very smoothly and I also like the way he describes himself as other objects or living things. I like the way he uses similes. The similes that he uses are very appropriate and suites his poem. I feel that he is really a metaphor because he keep on emphasizing on the phrase "FOR I AM A METAPHOR" so it leaves a strong impression on the reader. Therefore, I think this poem is very well written and I like it a lot.

My favourite poem

' FOR I AM A METAPHOR'

By: Kottrell Johnson

'For i am a Metaphor
For i am free as a bird
wiser than wise itself
brighter than a sun gama ray
FOR I AM A METAPHOR
for i love like the word
think like einstein
dream like Martin
FOR I AM A METAPHOR
For i smell like success
Achieve like achievers
and soar like number 23
FOR I AM A METAPHOR
for i deliver like mailmen
determine like focus
and prosper like underdogs
FOR I......AM.....A METAPHOR'


http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/for-i-am-a-metaphor/



The poet used the figurative language in the poem when he described himself free as a bird, wiser than wise itself, brighter than a sun gama ray, love like the word, think like einstein, dream like Martin, smell like success, achieve like achievers,
soar like number 23, determine like focus and prosper like underdogs.

This figurative language that he used is all similes. The author used similes because similes are figurative language and it can be used to compare two object with or without irony. Hence, the writer used the similes.

Book Review 4

Title: The Coldest Place on Earth
Author: Tim Victory

Summary: Until now, in the South Pole, there is a house, named Amundsen which is a South Pole station. The indoors of the house is warm, no matter summer or winter and people can work live or work there. It is very convenient, either to reach there or depart from there. One can travel from the South Pole station to other countries within hours. However when one walk out of the station 500 meters away, the destination will be the coldest place on earth.
In 1911, there were no airplanes and houses. Except for the snow and the coldness, almost nothing existed in South Pole. There was neither British flag nor Norway flag. But there were a few people who slowly walked across the South Pole. Those people were Scott, the leader, with his team. At that time, the temperature in South pole was worse than -30℃. They put up with the hungriness, tiredness and coldness and tried to reach their destination, South Pole.
Now, the words of Scott can still be seen in the South Pole station and it says that “God, this place was horrible!”

Review: I think this story had enriched my knowledge and it had also taught me some of the values. The knowledge I had learned from this book covered about the topic of South Pole and the values that I had learnt was perseverance. Only perseverance had led them to success. Hence, I like this book.

Book Review 3

Title: Dead Man’s Island
Author: John Escott

Summary: The protagonist, who is called Carol Sanders, lived in England. When he was younger, he lived in Hong Kong. His father was a businessman there while his mother is a secretary. When the protagonist was schooling, he enjoyed himself with lots of friends. He liked pop music. However, when he was seventeen years old, he felt that everything was beginning to go wrong for him. His father went to Australia for business and the protagonist did not wish his father to leave him along with his mother. His father stayed in Australia for two weeks. Then, all of the passengers in the airplane died and that was his father’s returning journey. After knowing the incident, He cried for a few weeks and was feeling lonely and sad. After the incident, he began to take drugs under the influence of his new friends. Then, the police came to the college to arrest some of the students but they did not arrest him but he had to leave college. Hence, his mother was very angry and decided that they should go to England and begin a new life. After a few weeks of immigration, he decided to find a college and a job. The he saw a job of secretary for the summer months on a small private island in Scotland. The job was awarded with good pay for the right person. Hence, the protagonist went for the job and that when the adventure began.

Review: I think the story is quite interesting and entertaining. I like the adventures that the protagonist experienced the most. After reading this book, I begin to like story with adventure as I enjoyed this book a lot. The adventures, for example the protagonist find many dead bodies on the small island accidently, always entertain me. I like the bravery of the protagonist, Carol, because he was not afraid of the dead man’s island and try to investigate what had happened. Hence, I like this book.

Book Review 2

Title: Aladdin and the Enchanted Lamp
Author: Judith Dean

Summary: Aladdin was a lazy boy. He did not like to work and he played all day with his friends in the market. He and his mother were very poor and were often hungry but Aladdin never worked and never helped his mother.
One day, Aladdin’s uncle, Abanazar, arrived in the city. He told Aladdin and his mother that he was a rich man. He gave them gold , bought Aladdin a beautiful new coat and wanted to help them.
However, Abanazar was not Aladdin’s uncle. He was a magician from Morocco and he wanted to find an enchanted lamp. He knew the lamp was in a magical garden under the ground near a city in Arabia. Only the poor boy, Aladdin, from the city could get into the garden and found the lamp. So Abanazar wanted Aladdin to find the enchanted lamp for him but Aladdin refused and in the end, Abanazar did not get the enchanted lamp.

Review: I like fairytales and magic a lot. So, when I read this book, I was filled with excitement and amazement. I envy Aladdin because he had a enchanted lamp and the magical spirit in the enchanted lamp can fulfill Aladdin wishes and I wish I could have one. The story is also adventurous. Hence, I like this story.

Book Review 1

Title: The Life and Strange Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe
Author: Daniel Defoe

Summary: Robinson Crusoe was born in 1632 in British. His father was German and his mother was British. Robinson was getting tired of the peaceful life in British. He decided to become a sailor and travel around the world. He took a ship in 1659, travelling from Brazil to Africa.
One day, a terrible storm came and broke the ship. Robinson and the crew on the ship soon struggled for help in the waves. All of the people on the ship were drowned to death, except for Robinson. Robinson reach the land unconsciously and he found himself alone on a unfamiliar, deserted island with no food, no boat and no way to escape from the island.
He lived on the island for 27 years alone and he learned to build houses, plant cropsand use animal skin to make clothes.

Review: I like adventurous story and I enjoyed them very much. I think this story educate me to become independent. I admire Robinson Crusoe as he was a very persevering man and had strong willpower. He was managed to stay alive on the island. He was also quick to change and adapt to the unfamiliar surroundings. He could change from an ambitious sailor to a survivor on an island. Hence, I like Robinson Crusoe and the story.