Art Of Drowning (Pitt Poetry Series) (Paperback)

by Billy Collins (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
The Art Of Drowning
The Best Cigarette
The Biography Of A Cloud
The Blues
Budapest
Canada
Center
Cheers
The City Of Tomorrow
Consolation
Conversion
Dancing Toward Bethlehem
Days
Dear Reader
Death Beds
Design
Directions
Dream
Driving Myself To A Poetry Reading
The End Of The World
Exploring The Coast Of Birdland
Fiftieth Birthday Eve
The First Dream
Horizon
Influence
The Invention Of The Saxophone
Keat's Handwriting
Man In Space
Medium
Metropolis
Monday Morning
My Heart
Nightclub
On Turning Ten
Osso Buco
Philosophy
Piano Lessons
Pinup
Print
Reading In A Hammock
Romanticism
Shadow
Some Final Words
Sunday Morning With The Sensational Nightingales
Sweet Talk
Thesaurus
Tuesday, June 4, 1991
Water Table
While Eating A Pear
Workshop
-- Table of Poems from Poem Finder® --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

"A wonderful, thoughtful, sly, and moving collection." 
--San Francisco Chronicle

"A brilliant collection."
--Washington Post

See all Editorial Reviews

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Product Details Paperback: 112 pages Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Press; 1 edition (June 15, 1995) Language: English ISBN-10: 0822955679 ISBN-13: 978-0822955672 Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.3 inches Shipping Weight: 6.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies) Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews) Amazon.com Sales Rank: #563,217 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Look Inside This Book

Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover

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Citations (learn more)

16 books cite this book:

• William James's "Springs of Delight": The Return to Life (The Vanderbilt Library of American Philosophy) by Phil Oliver in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
• Looking to Write : Students Writing Through the Visual Arts by Mary Ehrenworth on page 28, and page 42
• Grrrrr: A Collection Of Poems About Bears by Elaine Magarrell on page 219
• 180 More: Extraordinary Poems for Every Day by Billy Collins in Back Matter
• Real Sofistikashun: Essays on Poetry and Craft by Tony Hoagland in Front Matter

See all 16 books citing this book

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	51% buy the item featured on this page: Art Of Drowning (Pitt Poetry Series) 4.6 out of 5 stars (16) $11.66
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Customer Reviews

16 Reviews 5 star:  (12) 4 star:  (3) 3 star:    (0) 2 star:  (1) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review 4.6 out of 5 stars (16 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews 40 of 43 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Billy Collins' writing is fragilely beautiful, October 10, 1998 By  [e-mail] (New York City) - See all my reviews I first came across "lines lost among trees" in the Best of American Poetry 97. Next was The Art of Drowning. I feel Collins' presence in each of his poems; he writes himself into every one of them. He relates to his readers in a casual, informal way, not at all stuffy like the great predecessors of English poetry. He makes poems out of even the most hum-drum things of our daily lives, and crafts them in so delicate a way that they become fresh and alive. Collins himself is a very lively and affable person; I've had the opportunity to meet him. Picnic, Lightning however, was a bit of a disappointment; it couldn't top the ingenuity of The Art of Drowning. As for his earlier works...if only I could get my hands on them! They are all out-of-print. Billy Collins is not like other poets. He puts on no airs; he's the real thing. 18 of 18 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Changing the purpose of Poetry, May 3, 2000 By  Gianmarco Manzione (Tampa, FL USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    Billy Collins's original voice is delightfully accessible, often blending comedy and solemnity in one poem, and always with something new to say. The playful tone of these poems can be misleading; whether he is writing about eating a good plate of Osso Bucco or his favorite museum rooms, there is always a pathos lingering in the silence after the last line. Most relieving is the absence of pretentiousness or haughty language. This is simply, as Robert Bly writes in his introduction to the best American poems of 1999, Collins's skillful ability to "bring the soul up close to the thing" in every poem. Books such as "The Art of Drowning" threaten to change the face and purpose of poetry in the 21st century. Let's hope there is plenty more to come from Billy Collins. 11 of 11 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars Poetry without Pain, January 9, 2001 By  Russ Mayes (Glen Allen, VA United States) - See all my reviews If you are asking yourself "how can drowning be an art?" you have sensed some of the wry humor that he includes in his poetry. I've only read a handful of poems, but I can already sense the way he puts a plain style to an often comic end. He hasn't been "laugh out loud" funny yet, but he still offers more humor than most contemporary poets. This isn't by chance, either. He knows it: I am swaying now in the hour after dinner,/ a citizen tilted back on his chair, / a creature with a full stomach-- / something you don't hear much about in poetry, / the sanctuary of hunger and deprivation. / You know: the driving rain, the boots by the door, / small birds searching for berries in winter. ("Osso Buco") I think that is a wonderful description of much contemporary poetry which many people feel must stem from pain rather than pleasure. Collins is also willing to be... well... quirky. Here is his description of the types of paintings he likes, from a poem called "Metropolis:" I like the calm rustic ones: a surface of lake, / the low bough of an oak like a long arm, / a blue smudge of distant hills, / anything with cows, especially if they are standing / in a stream, their large, vacuous faces / staring into the warm nineteenth-century afternoon. / And if one has lowered her head to drink / and the painter has indicated with flecks of white / the water pouring down from the animal's mouth, / then the day, I feel, has achieved a modest crest. // . . . . . . . . . You can have that bronze sculpture by the elevators: / "Revolution Holding the Head of Error / and Standing Over the Cadaver of Monarchy." / My place is here, leaning forward, wandering / through the microscopic eyelash details of / "Still Life with Herring, Wine and Cheese," / "Still Life with Tobacco, Grapes and a Pocket Watch," / "Still Life with Porcelain Vase, Silver Tray, and Glasses," The line that begins "anything with cows" is as close as I've come to laughing out loud. I don't know why, but something about the honest incongruity I find funny. And I love the parodic title of the sculpture (I assume it's a parody) as a counterpoint to the simplicity of the still life pictures. I think it is clear that his poetry is more in the vein of the still life than the epic or allegorical, and I find his voice refreshing. The best poem in the collection is "The Invention of the Saxophone" which brings together all of the concerns he develops in this wonderful collection.		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 5.0 out of 5 stars Always enchanting and very thrilling Collin's verses are enchanting and thrilling. They can take up banalities and profound matters in an exquisite manner. Read more Published 6 months ago by D. Lynn 4.0 out of 5 stars The Art of Drowning My review is for those who aren't big poetry buffs. For those of us who think poetry could very well be a dead art or something only intellectuals would enjoy. Read more Published 19 months ago by Karen 5.0 out of 5 stars Nothing is measly. Reading Collins has given me a greater appreciation for the potential of free verse. He has affected my own writing in what I am currently interpreting as a positive way... Read more Published on January 10, 2004 by Cipriano 5.0 out of 5 stars Sarcastic, Poignant and Occasionally Comical "In a while, one of us will go up to bed and the other one will follow. Then we will slip below the surface of the night into miles of water, drifting down and... Read more Published on November 23, 2003 by Rebecca Johnson 5.0 out of 5 stars MAGNETIC COLLINS! There is poetry that you perfunctorily get by with in school. Then there is poetry you pick up from second hand stores, thinking "Heck, just 15 cents, couldn't hurt" only to find... Read more Published on May 19, 2003 by Shashank Tripathi 5.0 out of 5 stars The world would be a better place if everyone read Collins! I adore Billy Collins and this is one of my favourite collections. His words are honest and simple and his cadence is refreshing. Read more Published on January 24, 2002 by indisungirl 4.0 out of 5 stars this book will make you love poetry for those of you of think of poetry as the domain of the intellectuals or if poetry bores you, check this guy out. Read more Published on December 20, 2001 by Erren Geraud Kelly 5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect translation Collins has a way of translating life into beauty, the ordinary into something so spectacular, so perfect, that you want to hold it in your hands and rub it over and over again... Read more Published on June 29, 2001 5.0 out of 5 stars Never leave home without it My copy of this book is dog-eared with use. I have studied poetry for several years and Mr. Collins is one of the few writers whose work continually draws me in. Read more Published on September 27, 2000 by olivia_seaton 2.0 out of 5 stars Little Jimmy Dickens I, frankly, have no idea what all the fuss is about. Collin's upper middle class portrait of life is for the most part a bore. There's nothing electric happening here. Read more Published on April 28, 2000 Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Press; 1 edition (June 15, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0822955679
• ISBN-13: 978-0822955672
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #563,217 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Billy Collins' writing is fragilely beautiful, October 10, 1998

By	[e-mail] (New York City) - See all my reviews

I first came across "lines lost among trees" in the Best of American Poetry 97. Next was The Art of Drowning. I feel Collins' presence in each of his poems; he writes himself into every one of them. He relates to his readers in a casual, informal way, not at all stuffy like the great predecessors of English poetry. He makes poems out of even the most hum-drum things of our daily lives, and crafts them in so delicate a way that they become fresh and alive. Collins himself is a very lively and affable person; I've had the opportunity to meet him. Picnic, Lightning however, was a bit of a disappointment; it couldn't top the ingenuity of The Art of Drowning. As for his earlier works...if only I could get my hands on them! They are all out-of-print. Billy Collins is not like other poets. He puts on no airs; he's the real thing.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Changing the purpose of Poetry, May 3, 2000

By	Gianmarco Manzione (Tampa, FL USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Billy Collins's original voice is delightfully accessible, often blending comedy and solemnity in one poem, and always with something new to say. The playful tone of these poems can be misleading; whether he is writing about eating a good plate of Osso Bucco or his favorite museum rooms, there is always a pathos lingering in the silence after the last line. Most relieving is the absence of pretentiousness or haughty language. This is simply, as Robert Bly writes in his introduction to the best American poems of 1999, Collins's skillful ability to "bring the soul up close to the thing" in every poem. Books such as "The Art of Drowning" threaten to change the face and purpose of poetry in the 21st century. Let's hope there is plenty more to come from Billy Collins.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Poetry without Pain, January 9, 2001

By	Russ Mayes (Glen Allen, VA United States) - See all my reviews

If you are asking yourself "how can drowning be an art?" you have sensed some of the wry humor that he includes in his poetry. I've only read a handful of poems, but I can already sense the way he puts a plain style to an often comic end. He hasn't been "laugh out loud" funny yet, but he still offers more humor than most contemporary poets. This isn't by chance, either. He knows it:

I am swaying now in the hour after dinner,/ a citizen tilted back on his chair, / a creature with a full stomach-- / something you don't hear much about in poetry, / the sanctuary of hunger and deprivation. / You know: the driving rain, the boots by the door, / small birds searching for berries in winter. ("Osso Buco")

I think that is a wonderful description of much contemporary poetry which many people feel must stem from pain rather than pleasure.

Collins is also willing to be... well... quirky. Here is his description of the types of paintings he likes, from a poem called "Metropolis:"

I like the calm rustic ones: a surface of lake, / the low bough of an oak like a long arm, / a blue smudge of distant hills, / anything with cows, especially if they are standing / in a stream, their large, vacuous faces / staring into the warm nineteenth-century afternoon. / And if one has lowered her head to drink / and the painter has indicated with flecks of white / the water pouring down from the animal's mouth, / then the day, I feel, has achieved a modest crest. //

. . . . . . . . .

You can have that bronze sculpture by the elevators: / "Revolution Holding the Head of Error / and Standing Over the Cadaver of Monarchy." / My place is here, leaning forward, wandering / through the microscopic eyelash details of / "Still Life with Herring, Wine and Cheese," / "Still Life with Tobacco, Grapes and a Pocket Watch," / "Still Life with Porcelain Vase, Silver Tray, and Glasses,"

The line that begins "anything with cows" is as close as I've come to laughing out loud. I don't know why, but something about the honest incongruity I find funny. And I love the parodic title of the sculpture (I assume it's a parody) as a counterpoint to the simplicity of the still life pictures. I think it is clear that his poetry is more in the vein of the still life than the epic or allegorical, and I find his voice refreshing.

The best poem in the collection is "The Invention of the Saxophone" which brings together all of the concerns he develops in this wonderful collection.