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Musical Tables

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Musical Tables

Written by: Billy Collins
Narrated by: Billy Collins
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About this listen

"I’ve grown old–
now my own name
rings a bell."

In each of the short poems in Billy Collins’s Musical Tables, the former United States Poet Laureate tempers his characteristically jocular voice with what he calls the “thrill of mortality” – flashes of profundity amongst the mundane, startling reminders of the wonder of being alive.

Through the brevity of these poems, Collins’ knack for coaxing the poetry out of the everyday becomes ever more refined. Whether reflecting on mornings spent in the thicket of Los Angeles traffic, or turning over clichés on the tongue until old metaphors become new again, Musical Tables is Billy Collins at his most meditative: brief, and all the more brilliant for it.

'America’s favourite poet' – Wall Street Journal

 Poetry United States World Literature

Critic Reviews

'America's favourite poet'
‘Billy Collins’ medium is a rare amalgam of accessibility and intelligence. I’d follow this man’s mind anywhere. Expect to be surprised’ (Michael Donaghy)
Billy Collins 'puts the "fun" back in profundity' (Alice Fulton)
'Chatty, witty, wholly dependable'
'Collins remains the most companionable of poetic companions'
'The treat of treats. Unlike the wedding guest waylaid by Coleridge's Ancient Mariner, the reader emerges from encounters with Collins as a wiser and far happier person.'
'A writer . . . fully aware of his work’s power to delight'
‘A poet of plenitude, irony, and Augustan grace’
‘Billy Collins is one of my favourite poets in the world’ (Carol Ann Duffy)
‘Delightfully direct, he won’t lose you in his lyricism but will transport you to a better place’
‘The most popular poet in America’
‘Billy Collins writes lovely poems . . . Limpid, gently and consistently startling, more serious than they seem, they describe all the worlds that are and were and some others besides’ (John Updike)
‘Smart, his strings tuned and resonant, his wonderful eye looping over the things, events and ideas of the world, rueful, playful, warm voiced, easy to love’ (E. Annie Prolux)
'Imaginative thinking gives this collection its richness.... The work also shows a variety of styles...[that] provide both pleasure and a vivid example of how one's thoughts, when unrestrained, can lead to unexpected destinations'
‘Funny but serious, accessible but rich in meaning, consistently surprising – the world looks slightly different after reading a Billy Collins poem. He’s a one-off, an American treasure’ (Nick Laird)
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