Billy Collins
An American poet who masterfully finds the profound and the humorous in the everyday, making contemporary verse accessible to a vast audience.
Born 1941 (age 85)·American poet·Birthday: March 22·The Silent Generation
Biography
Billy Collins accomplished a rare feat in modern literature: he became a best-selling poet. His work, characterized by its conversational tone, wry humor, and sudden pivots into depth, functions as a friendly guide through ordinary moments—walking the dog, reading a newspaper, listening to jazz. Serving as U.S. Poet Laureate in the fraught years after 9/11, he used his platform not for overt polemics but to champion poetry's daily relevance, launching the 'Poetry 180' project to bring a poem into American high schools each day. A longtime professor, Collins retired to a life of writing and readings where he often plays the bemused, slightly rumpled observer of human quirks. His immense popularity stems from an invitation, extended in clear language, to look closer at the world right outside the window, discovering that it's stranger and more beautiful than it first appeared.
The Silent Generation
1928–1945
Born between the Depression and the end of WWII. Too young to fight, old enough to remember. They became the conformist middle managers of the 1950s — and the civil rights leaders who quietly dismantled Jim Crow.
Billy was born in 1941, placing them squarely in The Silent Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Billy Was Born
The biggest hits of 1941
#1 Movie
Sergeant York
Best Picture
How Green Was My Valley
Billy's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1941Born
Pearl Harbor attack brings the US into WWII
Gas: $0.19/galHome: $3,060Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Chattanooga Choo Choo" — Glenn MillerBest Picture: How Green Was My Valley
1946Started school
United Nations holds its first General Assembly
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $5,150Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Prisoner of Love" — Perry ComoBest Picture: The Best Years of Our Lives
1954Became a teenager
Brown v. Board of Education desegregates US schools
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $8,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Little Things Mean a Lot" — Kitty KallenBest Picture: On the Waterfront
1957Could drive
Sputnik launches the Space Age
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $10,550Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"All Shook Up" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: The Bridge on the River Kwai
1959Could vote
Fidel Castro takes power in Cuba
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $12,400Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"The Battle of New Orleans" — Johnny HortonBest Picture: Ben-Hur
1962Turned 21
Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,800Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Stranger on the Shore" — Acker BilkBest Picture: Lawrence of Arabia
1971Turned 30
Voting age lowered to 18 in the US
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $18,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Joy to the World" — Three Dog NightBest Picture: The French Connection
1981Turned 40
MTV launches; first Space Shuttle flight; AIDS identified
Gas: $1.31/galHome: $52,300Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Bette Davis Eyes" — Kim CarnesBest Picture: Chariots of Fire
1991Turned 50
Soviet Union dissolves; World Wide Web goes public
Gas: $1.14/galHome: $82,400Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" — Bryan AdamsBest Picture: The Silence of the Lambs
2001Turned 60
September 11 attacks transform the world
Gas: $1.46/galHome: $126,400Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Hanging by a Moment" — LifehouseBest Picture: A Beautiful Mind
2011Turned 70
Osama bin Laden killed; Arab Spring sweeps the Middle East
Gas: $3.53/galHome: $138,400Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Rolling in the Deep" — AdeleBest Picture: The Artist
2021Turned 80
January 6 Capitol breach; COVID vaccines roll out globally
Gas: $3.01/galHome: $298,900Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"Levitating" — Dua LipaBest Picture: CODA
2026Age 85 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Served as the United States Poet Laureate from 2001 to 2003.
- Served as the New York State Poet from 2004 to 2006.
- Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2016.
- His collection 'The Art of Drowning' was a finalist for the Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize in 1995.
Did You Know?
He is an avid motorcyclist and has written poems about riding.
Collins was the first poet to record an audio edition of his work for the 'Poetry on Record' series.
He taught at Lehman College in the Bronx for over four decades.
His poem 'The Lanyard' is a frequently recited and popular piece about childhood and gratitude.
“I ask them to take a poem and hold it up to the light like a color slide.”
