Water, Water

Collins is his own most eloquent critic. In a poem bearing the stripped down title of, "Your Poem," he suggests that one of the go-to emotions in his work is: "buoyant ease in the shadow of mortality". This whole collection is filled with poems that strike that rare attitude. And, some of them, like "Emily Dickinson in Space," are among the best poems that Collins has ever written. * NPR *
America's favourite poet * Wall Street Journal *
Billy Collins’ medium is a rare amalgam of accessibility and intelligence. I’d follow this man’s mind anywhere. Expect to be surprised -- Michael Donaghy
Billy Collins is one of my favourite poets in the world -- Carol Ann Duffy
Chatty, witty, wholly dependable * Guardian *
Smart, his strings tuned and resonant, his wonderful eye looping over the things, events and ideas of the world, rueful, playful, warm voiced, easy to love -- Annie Proulx
Funny but serious, accessible but rich in meaning, consistently surprising – the world looks slightly different after reading a Billy Collins poem. He’s a one-off, an American treasure -- Nick Laird
Collins remains the most companionable of poetic companions * New York Times *
The treat of treats. Unlike the wedding guest waylaid by Coleridge's Ancient Mariner, the reader emerges from encounters with Collins as a wiser and far happier person * New Statesman *
'A writer . . . fully aware of his work’s power to delight * New York Times *
A poet of plenitude, irony, and Augustangrace * New Yorker *
Delightfully direct, he won’t lose you in his lyricism but will transport you to a better place * The Times *
Billy Collins 'puts the "fun" back in 'profundity' -- Alice Fulton
The most popular poet in America * New York Times *
Billy Collins writes lovely poems . . . Limpid, gently and consistently startling, more serious than they seem, they describe all the worlds that are and were and some others besides -- John Updike
Imaginative thinking gives this collection its richness.... The work also shows a variety of styles...[that] provide both pleasure and a vivid example of how one's thoughts, when unrestrained, can lead to unexpected destinations * Washington Post *