61 Billy Collins, “The Lanyard,” 2007
This video features three poems from the former US Poet Laureate Billy Collins. Focus on “The Lanyard.”
As you listen to “The Lanyard,” click on the link below to follow along with the text of the poem.
William James “Billy” Collins (born March 22, 1941) is an American poet, appointed as Poet Laureate of the United States from 2001 to 2003. He is a Distinguished Professor at Lehman College of the City University of New York and is the Senior Distinguished Fellow of the Winter Park Institute, Florida. Collins was recognized as a Literary Lion of the New York Public Library (1992) and selected as the New York State Poet for 2004 through 2006. As of 2015, he is a teacher in the MFA program at Stony Brook Southampton.