{"product_id":"aimless-love-new-and-selected-poems-9780812982671","title":"Aimless Love: New and Selected Poems","description":"\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNEW YORK TIMES \u003c\/i\u003eBESTSELLER \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"America's favorite poet.\"\u003ci\u003e--The Wall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFrom the two-term Poet Laureate of the United States Billy Collins comes his first volume of new and selected poems in twelve years. \u003ci\u003eAimless Love\u003c\/i\u003e combines fifty new poems with generous selections from his four most recent books--\u003ci\u003eNine Horses, The Trouble with Poetry, Ballistics, \u003c\/i\u003eand\u003ci\u003e Horoscopes for the Dead. \u003c\/i\u003eCollins's unmistakable voice, which brings together plain speech with imaginative surprise, is clearly heard on every page, reminding us how he has managed to enrich the tapestry of contemporary poetry and greatly expand its audience. His work is featured in top literary magazines such as \u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003ePoetry\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe Atlantic\u003c\/i\u003e, and he sells out reading venues all across the country. Appearing regularly in \u003ci\u003eThe Best American Poetry\u003c\/i\u003e series, his poems appeal to readers and live audiences far and wide and have been translated into more than a dozen languages. By turns playful, ironic, and serious, Collins's poetry captures the nuances of everyday life while leading the reader into zones of inspired wonder. In the poet's own words, he hopes that his poems \"begin in Kansas and end in Oz.\" Touching on the themes of love, loss, joy, and poetry itself, these poems showcase the best work of this \"poet of plenitude, irony, and Augustan grace\" \u003ci\u003e(The New Yorker).\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eEnvoy\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Go, little book, \u003cbr\u003e out of this house and into the world, \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e carriage made of paper rolling toward town\u003cbr\u003e bearing a single passenger\u003cbr\u003e beyond the reach of this jittery pen\u003cbr\u003e and far from the desk and the nosy gooseneck lamp. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e It is time to decamp, \u003cbr\u003e put on a jacket and venture outside, \u003cbr\u003e time to be regarded by other eyes, \u003cbr\u003e bound to be held in foreign hands. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e So off you go, infants of the brain, \u003cbr\u003e with a wave and some bits of fatherly advice: \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e stay out as late as you like, \u003cbr\u003e don't bother to call or write, \u003cbr\u003e and talk to as many strangers as you can. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eAimless Love\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \" Billy Collins] is able, with precious few words, to make me cry. Or laugh out loud. He is a remarkable artist. To have such power in such an abbreviated form is deeply inspiring.\"\u003cb\u003e--J. J. Abrams, \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"His work is poignant, straightforward, usually funny and imaginative, also nuanced and surprising. It bears repeated reading and reading aloud.\"\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eThe Plain Dealer\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \"Collins has earned almost rock-star status. . . . He knows how to write layered, subtly witty poems that anyone can understand and appreciate--even those who don't normally like poetry. . . . The Collins in these pages is distinctive, evocative, and knows how to make the genre fresh and relevant.\"\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e--The Christian Science Monitor\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \"Collins's new poems contain everything you've come to expect from a Billy Collins poem. They stand solidly on even ground, chiseled and unbreakable. Their phrasing is elegant, the humor is alive, and the speaker continues to stroll at his own pace through the plainness of American life.\"\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eThe Daily Beast\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \" Collins's] poetry presents simple observations, which create a shared experience between Collins and his readers, while further revealing how he takes life's everyday humdrum experiences and makes them vibrant.\"\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e--The Times Leader\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBilly Collins \u003c\/b\u003eis the author of twelve collections of poetry including \u003ci\u003eThe Rain in Portugal, Aimless Love, Horoscopes for the Dead, Ballistics, The Trouble with Poetry, Nine Horses, Sailing Alone Around the Room, Questions About Angels, The Art of Drowning\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003ePicnic, Lightning\u003c\/i\u003e. He is also the editor of \u003ci\u003ePoetry 180: A Turning Back to Poetry, 180 More: Extraordinary Poems for Every Day\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eBright Wings: An Illustrated Anthology of Poems About Birds\u003c\/i\u003e. A former Distinguished Professor at Lehman College of the City University of New York, Collins served as Poet Laureate of the United States from 2001 to 2003 and as New York State Poet from 2004 to 2006. In 2016 he was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He lives in Florida with his wife Suzannah.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Random House Trade","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50616698536210,"sku":"9780812982671","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_1b7f0024-fbe7-48b0-94f1-5702666a4ce8.jpg?v=1732509159","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/aimless-love-new-and-selected-poems-9780812982671","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}