Today, Billy Collins came to campus and gave a poetry reading. It was one of the coolest experiences of my whole life because he's my favorite poet, like, ever. He's spectacular, and today I got to be in the same room as him.
I was really nervous that I wouldn't make it to the convocation because I had a class during the time it was happening, but lucky for me, this is college, and my professor let us leave early since we had more stuff happening this week (like a performance tomorrow, ack!). So, I actually made it to the Great Hall, where it was happening, but of course, it was completely full, and the overflow room was full, too. I was really disappointed because I was so excited to see Billy Collins, but they told us that we could stand outside the doors to the Great Hall and listen.
And then, after the pledge, we were told we could go stand along the walls of the room. And that, dear readers, is how I got my first glimpse of Billy Collins. He read a poem commemorating 9/11, then there were some speeches, and then, he got to go up and read more poems! It was so cool. He read "Cheerios", "The Lanyard" (my absolute favorite), and a bunch of others that just reminded me why I really like Billy Collins. It's because his poems are, as he said today, "public language". He doesn't use a lot of figurative language in his poetry. It is really just observation, and I love the simplicity of the poetry because it doesn't try to be poetic, it is because of the way he writes.
I'm just super happy that I got to breathe the same air as Billy Collins today. I did have to leave early because I had a dress rehearsal for tomorrow's performance, but just being there for the hour that I could was so special, and I'll always remember being a college freshman and being able to be in the presence of my favorite poet and listening to him read the poems and tell the stories behind them.
That's all for now!
Peace out!
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