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Sailing Alone Around the Room
New and Selected Poems
by Billy Collins
ISBN: 0375755195
ISBN-13: 9780375755194
Format: Paperback
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Summary
This selected volume presents 20 new poems and draws on four of Collins previous books, THE APPLE THAT ASTONISHED PARIS; QUESTIONS ABOUT ANGELS; THE BEST CIGARETTE; and PICNIC, LIGHTNING. Collins was named the 2001-2002 United States Poet Laureate. This collection was named a Notable Book by the New York Times in 2001.
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Media Reviews
"Collins's new greatest hits collection, SAILING ALONE AROUND THE ROOM, is certainly hospitable. There are brainy, observant, spit-shined moments on almost every page...He's the anti-Jorie Graham...You finish SAILING ALONE AROUND THE ROOM feeling pleased that such a sensible and gifted man is America's poet laureate - young writers have plenty to learn from his clarity and apparent ease - while harboring nagging doubts about whether his work belongs on the high shelf of work by the best living American poets. Which is probably O.K. with Collins. I'd guess he wants his collections on that lower shelf, perhaps even a bedside table, anywhere that's close at hand. " -- Dwight Garner
-- New York Times Book Review
"He speaks of 'you' as freely as 'I' but it's a way of inviting you to be part of a thoughtful first person. He never digs in his heels and tells you what to do or believe; nor does he leave you in the dust. Collins neither preaches nor baffles. Using direct language, he conveys specific and individual episodes where realism and surrealism overlap to produce mild mystifications. He is a poet of balance formally as wel.... He's not a prig formalist any more than he's a wild-eyed avant-gardist. To put it another way, one might say he is neither British nor French. Which means, I suppose, that he is American." -- Joshua Clover
-- Village Voice
"His poems glide amiably. They express with gentle wit and verbal dexterity the outward comforts and inner loneliness of a well-accompanied family man." -- Richard Eder
-- New York Times
"You could say that Billy Collins makes the gateway drug of American poetry. It's not the strongest stuff around. It has its own attractions. It infuses the reader with a desire for something more challenging...As proved again by SAILING ALONE AROUND THE ROOM: NEW AND SELECTED POEMS, the work goes down smoothly, with its gentle lucidity and friendly intelligence...[L]ike even mild marijuana, it plays with everyday attachments in ways that go beyond mere pleasure." -- Allan M. Jalon
-- San Francisco Chronicle Book Review
"At times, Collins seems to exist at the beguiling intersection of the typewriter and the poetry slam. Although his body resides in the old fashioned world of the smeared ribbon, his soul seems to crave the microphone. Like a master jazz trumpeter, Collins takes quirky, imaginative leaps that are as stunning for their coherence as their originality...So obviously a virtuoso, Billy Collins is sure to bring many new readers to poetry. Here's hoping that both his fresh and seasoned readers expect more from him." -- Bart Schneider
-- Washington Post Book World
Bibliographic Details
Publisher: Random House Inc
Published date: 2002
Size: 5.25 x 8.25 inches
Weight: 0.3 pounds
Pages: 171
Publisher's Notes
Sailing Alone Around the Room, by America’s Poet Laureate, Billy Collins, contains both new poems and a generous gathering from his earlier collections The Apple That Astonished Paris, Questions About Angels, The Art of Drowning, and Picnic, Lightning. These poems show Collins at his best, performing the kinds of distinctive poetic maneuvers that have delighted and fascinated so many readers. They may begin in curiosity and end in grief; they may start with irony and end with lyric transformation; they may, and often do, begin with the everyday and end in the infinite. Possessed of a unique voice that is at once plain and melodic, Billy Collins has managed to enrich American poetry while greatly widening the circle of its audience.
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Sailing Alone Around the Room: New and Selected Poems (Qty: 121)
Collins, Billy
Random House Trade Paperbacks, 17-Sep-2002. Paperback. NEW. Brand new item. Over 4 million customers served. Order now. Selling online since 1995. Few left in stock - order soon. Code: U20081003213547G ( more information) Offered by A1Books (United States)
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Sailing Alone Around the Room
Collins, Billy
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Sailing Alone Around the Room: New and Selected Poems (Paperback)
Collins, Billy
Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2002 Book is NEW; unread. BOOKSMART offers free domestic shipping (media mail) on orders of three or more books.. Trade Paperback. As New. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. ( more information) Offered by Booksmart (United States)
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Sailing Alone Around the Room: New and Selected Poems (Qty: 5)
Billy Collins
Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2002-09-17. Paperback. New. Brand New. In Stock. Order Now. Ship from CA, IN, PA, OR, TN and FL. Over 600,000 CD/DVD, Books and bibles. Free tracking with every order. ( more information) Offered by *** www.HarvardBooksellers.com *** (United States)
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Sailing Alone Around the Room: New and Selected Poems
Collins, Billy
NY:: Random House,, 2001. Later Printing,. PB. SIGNED by the author on the title page. Previous owner's inscription on the inside front cover. Otherwise a near fine copy in wraps. Paperback. ( more information) Offered by Books Again, Inc. (United States)
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Sailing Alone Around the Room: New and Selected Poems (Qty: 5)
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Collins, Billy
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Sailing Alone Around the Room: New and Selected Poems
Collins, Billy
Random House Trade Paperbacks. PAPERBACK. 0375755195 New with very slight shelf wear from time on shelf (like you'd see at a major chain). We ship daily, provide personalized customer service and want you to have a great experience purchasing from us. Thank you for your consideration. . New. ( more information) Offered by BennettBooksLtd (United States)
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