Poet Billy Collins to present new book at Rollins

He's had work featured in The New Yorker, The Paris Review, and The American Scholar, and now he'll be speaking at Rollins College.

On Wednesday, Nov. 8, poet Billy Collins will be reading from, and discussing, his new book "Beyond the Birdbath: Poems from Several Time Zones" at the Bush Auditorium in the Bush Science Center.

The talk is a part of the Winter Park Institute at Rollins College Speaker series, which looks to bring in inspirational and intellectual speakers to speak to students, professors, and members of the community. 

Collins himself has an impressive background as a poet, serving as the United States Poet Laureate from 2001 to 2003, as well as the New York State Poet Laureate from 2004 to 2006. He is also the Senior Distinguished Fellow of the Winter Park Institute at Rollins College.

"The typical Collins poem opens on a clear and hospitable note but soon takes an unexpected turn; poems that begin in irony may end in a moment of lyric surprise," reads a statement from Rollins. "No wonder Collins sees his poetry as "a form of travel writing" and considers humor 'a door into the serious.' It is a door that thousands of readers have opened with amazement and delight."