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Loading... Nine Horses: Poemsby Billy Collins
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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. Billy Collins is a gem: Capturing simple moments and odd imaginings from everyday life - funny; with beautiful, satisfying imagery. (  ) illuminatedliterati | Mar 24, 2009 |  I picked up Nine Horses on a whim ( I liked the title, and the reviews here looked promising) and although it's not at all horse-related in the sense the title suggests, I enjoyed it very much. Collins' poems are lyric and accessible at the same time. He muses on every day matters -- 3 AM wakefulness, love and domesticity, or the simple act of watching the scenery click by on a train trip -- and makes them experiences worthy of remembering. I'm not usually a poetry reader, so this isn't a particularly literary review, but today I've been more watchful for the beauty in the everyday. I'll look for Collins' name in the future if a poetic mood strikes me, and I'm adding Nine Horses to my "books to purchase" list. (  ) fssunnysd | Mar 3, 2008 | What wonderful direct poems. I loved this and savored it, eager for the next, but reluctant to move on. I don't read a lot of poetry, so I am perhaps not the best judge of verse, but these spoke to me. owenre | Feb 18, 2008 | I don't normally read poetry but I flipped through this one while I was cataloging it (I admit, it was mostly because of the horses on the cover) and ended up taking it home. These poems are so deceptively simple yet powerful. Everyday occurences and objects become something magical in the hands of Collins. He both awes me with his skill and gives me hope that maybe I could actually write a decent poem. I read one of the poems ("Aimless Love") out loud to a friend and actually got chills down my spine, which I don't think has ever happened to me while reading a poem. Collins' poems are spare, no fancy imagery, no overwrought emotions but they distill life into its essence, like holding up a lens that sharpens one's vision of the world. I look forward to reading more of Collins' poems -- and maybe trying to write a few of my own. ( )1  FionaCat | Jan 28, 2008 | If you want to read accessible, but great poetry, read Billy Collins. Nostalgia, chuckles and things that make you go "hmmm." ( ) Iralell | Nov 10, 2007 |  no reviews | add a review
Amazon.com (ISBN 0375755209, Paperback)In Nine Horses, Billy Collins, U.S. poet laureate and author of the bestselling collection Sailing Alone Around the Room, attempts to find beauty in simplicity, but ends up achieving the simply banal. Some poems, such as "Rooms" and "Obituaries," in which readers are given freedom to draw their own conclusions, are memorable, but the language in Nine Horses has little music and thoughts are plainly stated. Animals (mostly mice and little birds) populate this sentimental journey, and they are nearly always personified, resulting in poems that sometimes read like the verse equivalent of a Thomas Kinkade print. Collins's use of the vernacular can be burdensome ("and you are certainly not the pine-scented air. / There is no way you are the pine-scented air"), but some readers may find comfort (a haven perhaps) in the author's warm, safe world. Billy Collins has become an immensely popular poet, and though Nine Horses may remain less than inspiring, its poems are certain not to offend. --Michael Ferch(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:18 -0400) The first test round has been closed. Visit the Open Shelves Classification group for details. |
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