The Rain in Portugal: Poems

Beautiful poems, as always, from Collins. If you have enjoyed his previous works, then I have no doubt you will enjoy the verses in this volume. This is not to say if you are new to Collins that this collection is inaccessible at all. What I like about Collins is that I can use many of his poems with students of a wide variety of ages and they engage with and understand his work. He is even anthologized in some textbooks I have used. A great read for the lover of literature, and a great resource for teachers.

Every time I put down a book Billy Collin's has written, I'm left satisfied. He has such a delightful way of telling a story that is occupying his mind. Frequently, I find myself cracking a sly smile when it gets a bit sarcastic or even in the truth-telling. Such a good writer!

I will admit right off that I don’t read much poetry. I was once, briefly, the owner of an audio anthology of The Best Poems of some year or other, one that included a poem by Anne Carson (“Tolstoy thought that if Kant had not smoked so much tobacco–‘The Critique of Pure Reason’ would have been written in-language you could understand”) and ‘Publication Date’ by Franz Wright (“A sparrow limps past on its little bone crutch saying-I am Federico Garcia Lorca-risen from the dead–literature will lose, sunlight will win, don’t worry”) but after I finished that anthology I loaned it to a friend, and she thought it was great, so I told her that she could keep it. And I don’t recall ever having read a review of a book of poems. But I do like a good book title, and when I saw “The Rain in Portugal” on the ‘new books’ shelf of the public library, and learned from its cover that it was a book of poems, I said to myself “That is a witty title for a book of poems,” and I had a look at the contents pages, to see if there actually was a poem about the rain in Portugal. I did not find one. It appeared that the author was not up to the task, so I put the book back on the shelf. But, that night, as I was getting under the covers, I asked myself “How difficult would it be to compose a poem about the rain in Portugal?” and, in order to find out, I gave it a try. I fell asleep in about two minutes, but it seemed to me that in that time I did actually manage to compose something, or at least managed to dream that I had. I was surprised the next morning when, with a little effort, I was able to recall the piece. Here it is: The rain in Portugal is the sort you ought to see Falling on the mountains so light and sprinkle-y Draping the ferns with jewels and the toads upon their stools Proclaim that some Portuguese rain is just as nice as Portugal can be As I contemplated this result, it occurred to me that while Mr. Collins’ book did not contain a poem titled “The Rain in Portugal,” it might contain a poem that made some sort of reference to that subject, so I went back to the library and borrowed the book. I found that I had guessed correctly. And, since I now had the book out on loan from the library, I read the rest of the poems. Mr. Collins’ poems are, when you get right down to it, prose. I feel it is okay for me to say this, because he is a past Poet Laureate of the United States, so he won’t be losing any sleep over anything I have to say, especially after reading my poem. The poems in his book are mostly breezy, fun and okay. Reading them won’t do you any harm. Here is one of the more melancholy: After she swiveled on a heel and headed with a flip of the ponytail toward Grand Central Station I watched her disappear into the crowd the way a forest may disappear into its trees And then I too began to disappear, a scrivener’s eraser rubbing out the pencil lines of my being Now neither of us was either here nor there and would fail to make our mark on the history of civilization And that reminded me of the day I stood in a museum before a somber painting then bent close to read the little printed card that told me it was a portrait of an anonymous Dutch family by an anonymous Dutch artist So, actually borrowing “The Rain in Portugal” turned out to be a good thing. I will probably have a look at some more of Mr. Collins’ work, sooner or later. And, do you know, it also rains in Uzbekistan. Feel free.

Just supeb stuff fron a great poet and life observer. Always a smile or two. The irony flag flies high with this one. Hard to beat his last collection. This one might though the jury is still out. Buy this. Read this. You'll love it.

Billy Collins touches my heart, makes me smile and...occasionally, wonderfully...makes me laugh out loud. He puts Prufrock...and Adam and Eve...in accessible places. For that alone I will love him forever. This collection speaks of aging in comforting ways. Bliss.

Billy Collins maintaining the same quality standards I've come to expect from him. When I want to show my students just how fun poetry can be, Billy Collins is my go-to. His new poem "Lucky Cat" raises the already-high bar set by "Another Reason Why I Don't Keep a Gun in the House."

If you have been stressed and forced to focus on a job that takes over your life, read Billy Collins's poems at night and remember the qualities of living life itself, and what we all think about, if we have the time to do it.

It's his usual everyday observational stuff with occasional glimpses of humor and literary depth. Not his finest collection, honestly, but good enough to warrant recommendation. For all his disdain of the descriptor "accessible," he didn't do much here to change that perception of his work. And that can be a good thing, depending on the reader.

Billy Collins takes the readers in a unique but funny journey through his poems about day to day life and its activities. If you love to read Poetry, this is a recommended book though it may take you a while to get used to his ways of writing. But once you are in his highway, there's no turning back.

Billy Collins - a pure joy. Acute observations.

Although I don't dislike poetry, generally it does not move me and I had never bought a book of poetry. Then I came across a review of "Aimless Love". Wonderful! It wasn't like any poetry I had read and I now have nearly all of his books. Billy Collins is a treasure. Anything by him is worth reading.

he is so nice

This was a gift and was received with pleasure! Great service - thank you