Student Publications
University of Houston
151C Communications Bldg
Houston, TX 77204-4015
713.743.5350

©1991-2007
Student Publications,
All rights reserved.

Last modified:

Contact:
ktruitt@uh.edu

Life & Arts

Acclaimed poet to give reading

COUGAR LIFE & ARTS SERVICES

Jones Hall will play host tonight to a former U.S. poet laureate whose work you won't need a degree in English to appreciate. 

Billy Collins, whose poems have appeared in The New Yorker and The Paris Review will give a reading hosted by the Society of the Performing Arts. 

Collins' work has often been compared to that of Robert Frost because of its wide appeal and critical acclaim. 

Collins' poems usually begin with a clear and warm image or point and take an unexpected turn or twist. 

Collins believes the author should take the reader into consideration to help clarify the message.. 

"As I'm writing, I'm always reader-conscious. I have one reader in mind, someone who is in the room with me, and who I'm talking to, and I want to make sure I don't talk too fast, or too glibly," he said in a release. "Usually I try to create a hospitable tone at the beginning of a poem. Stepping from the title to the first lines is like stepping into a canoe. A lot of things can go wrong."

Send comments to dcshobiz@mail.uh.edu