Community Corner
Poet Billy Collins Delights Sold-Out Oak Bluffs Crowd
Along with longtime crowd pleasers like "Another Reason Why I Don't Keep a Gun in the House," which begins "The neighbors' dog will not stop barking," Collins read more recent work from his newest book, the upcoming "Aimless Love."
More than 200 people turned out for a reading by former United States poet laureate Billy Collins at Featherstone Center for the Arts in Oak Bluffs Friday night.
Collins, 70 ("older than Cheerios" by a few months, he observed), was introduced by Martha's Vineyard poet Dan Waters, also known as D.A.W.
Friday's reading was part of the Pathways and Featherstone Summer Festival of Poetry , an annual event that has hosted Collins every other year since 2007, said Featherstone director Ann Smith.
Collins's wry, insightful poems and remarks delighted the capacity audience, frequently drawing laughter and enthusiastic applause.
Along with longtime crowd pleasers like "Another Reason Why I Don't Keep a Gun in the House," which begins "The neighbors' dog will not stop barking," Collins read more recent work from his newest book, "Aimless Love," which he said is coming out in October.
One poem, "Tanager," had never been read on microphone before, Collins told the audience.
After the reading, a long line formed with more than 30 people waiting to have Collins autograph their books of his poetry.
Tickets to the reading were $20.
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