Billy Collins Shares Three Songs And Poems About Aimless Love
It's fair to say Billy Collins is the most acclaimed poet in America today. As a two-term poet laureate for the United States (2001-2003) and poet laureate for the state of New York for two years after that, Collins captures readers with his subtle wit, profound insight and a simple, plain language aesthetic almost like song lyrics.
The author of numerous collections of poetry, including Horoscopes For The Dead, Collins lives in Somers, New York, and is an English professor at City University of New York, where he's taught for more than 40 years. And last year, his work was seen by an even wider audience after he wrote a commemorative poem for Grand Central terminal on its 100th anniversary. That poem later appeared on subway trains and Metrocards as part of the “Poetry in Motion” program.
Collins' most recent collection, Aimless Love: New and Selected Poems, draws on music to inspire the emotions of aimless, pathetic and delightfully desperate lovers.
In a conversation with Soundcheck host John Schaefer, Collins describes what exactly a poet laureate does, how he's commissioned to write poems, how music informs and overlaps with his work. Plus he shares three new poems and pairs them with three songs about bittersweet love as part of Soundcheck's Pick Three series.
Billy Collins' Pick Three Playlist
Precious Bryant, "Fool Me Good"
She kind of had me from the title of this song, I think it’s a wonderful, romantic concept. And the title of my poem is also “Fool Me Good.”
There’s not too much to the lyrics, there’s a lot of repetition. I just think when she swings around, it’s a very jumpy Piedmont style. But also it’s this pathetic condition that even if you don’t love me, fool me. Deceive me. Asking to be deceived. For one of these songs, there are 10,000 songs for complaining about being deceived. And here’s a women who’s so desperate who wants to be deceived, because it’s better than nothing.
Thelonius Monk, "Ruby, My Dear"
I’d say most of the listening I do is to jazz. I’ve been listening to it since I was 14 years old, basically listening to the same jazz. I think the best year of jazz was 1957, or around there. That music still sounds incredibly fresh to me.
Big Head Todd And The Monsters, "Bittersweet"
When I was 14, rock and roll began in 1955. Adolescence started. My mother used to call me the original teenager. Big Head Todd, I didn’t know about him until I went to see him at the Rymen Auditorium in Nashville. I went to see another singer who was headlining. I won’t even mention his name, but a very famous folk singer. Big head Todd opened for him and just blew the place a part. And we actually left after that because we had our musical thrill for the night. He’s an amazing, captivating singer. This song, I’m pretty sure is his signature song.
