Welcome to another Tuesday with TED. Today we have two-term U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins. He is an English professor at City University of New York, where he has taught for more than 40 years.
Accessibility is not a word often associated with great poetry. Yet Billy has managed to create a legacy from what he calls being poetically “hospitable.” Preferring lyrical simplicity to abstruse intellectualism, he combines humility and depth of perception, undercutting light and digestible topics with dark, and at times, biting humor.
In this TED talk, Billy shares a project in which several of his poems were turned into delightful animated short films in a collaboration with the Sundance Channel. Five of them are included in this wonderfully entertaining and moving presentation. Don’t miss the hilarious final poem!
How did you like these poems? Did the animation enhance your enjoyment of them or serve as a distraction? How might you combine differing art forms in your creative endeavors?
Until next time,
Cynthia Patton
