Poetry fans of all generations packed the Wisconsin Union Theater Wednesday to hear former U.S. poet laureate Billy Collins share poetry and answer questions from the audience. Collins used wit and poignancy, in both his poems and comments, to convey the humor or extraordinary in the mundane.
For instance, in his poem \Oliver,"" Collins centers a poem around a textbook's rule dictating what audience poets should write for: a stranger in a distant country hundreds of years from now. Using this rule, Collins writes on an ""eternal truth"" that will be relevant to people throughout time.
""No one likes a wet dog ... I bet no one likes a wet dog where you are either,"" Collins said.
In another poem, ""Nostalgia,"" Collins satirizes the instant nostalgia and generalization of decades, such as the '70s as the disco era.
""Remember the 1340s? We were doing a dance called the Catapult. You always wore brown, the color craze of the decade,"" Collins read.
However, near the end of his poems, Collins often switches to a serious tone, as in ""Nostalgia.""
""Even this morning would be an improvement over the present,"" Collins said.
Collins' deadpan delivery and slight smirk at each poem's closing often caused the audience to laugh and applaud.
""Flatness,"" Collins said of his voice, ""is the thing for me.""
Ken Frazier, director of the UW-Madison library system, which sponsored the event, said the lecture's audience was one of the largest for any poetry reading in Madison.
According to Frazier, Collins is the most well-known American poet since Robert Frost.
""He writes poems that do not assume that we too are English professors,"" Frazier said.
However, Collins said he writes for a somewhat different purpose.
""To write is really an act of hope-the hope that someone will read it,"" Collins said.
To the mix of old and young filling the theater to capacity, Collins' hope may seem unwarranted.
Teresa Dzieglewicz, a UW-Madison sophomore, said she thought the lecture was wonderful, although she wished for more of a student presence.
UW-Madison sophomore Trista Erickson agreed but added that Collins' poetry can be enjoyed by any generation.
""[With Collins' poetry] you're being exposed to something new and you don't really have to like poetry-it's so accessible,"" Erickson said.
