"Taking Off Emily Dickinson's Clothes" by Billy Collins (poetry reading)

[gooddogmac]

Wonderful poem - really like it



[bizintin]

I weep in the joy of this poem and in the reading of it. Such joy, such joy.

[Key0fZ]

I feel like there are people using "post modern" in very odd ways in this comment section. But, then again, post modern might as well be a big WTF sign as it's nebulous at best.

And for anyone who thinks Collins is being serious: perhaps you should read up on your Emily Dickinson poetry. Collins clearly references her famous poems at the end and also her writing style - you know, the one where she includes dashes at seemingly odd places. This was a metaphorical undressing and exploration folks.

[stephan1ewr1tes]

I think I'm turned on LOL!

[FreshDoodooMix]

@SpokenVerse ...starting to see poets as complete snobs these days. I can't help but think, "get over yourself, mate". Some postmodern poetry in particular really gets on my moobs. When people try to be minimalistic, I don't see the appeal. Anyway, I'll go elsewhere with my rantings, sorry to fill up your video's comment page with my anger there!

[timray99]

Collins is a very talented university poet, i do not care for him but he is much better than Kerouac...i like Emily

[zenafied]

I love his mention of the dashes in their conversation. It really does make it seem like it is her voice he is undressing.

[ThisIsAnagrammed]

You know when you dig deep into someone’s poem, you get this feeling you know them in an astonishingly personal way. Not only just watching their though process but hearing their confessions. I think Billy Collins is writing about his experience of reading Emily Dickinson. The many layers of clothes worn at that time represents the older language she wrote in and how extra effort is needed to boil down words in order to find the naked meaning in her poems.

[mnolanporter]

In Amherst, there's a statute of Emily Dickinson sitting down to talk with Robert Frost -- an imagined intersection of two great poets who never met.

This is another imagined intersection of two great poets, but somehow I don't think they're going to put up a statute of Emily & Billy meeting in Amherst.

[SpokenVerse]

@dalesings2u Billy Collins says "There are many speculations about her...Was she lesbian? Was she celibate? Did she have an affair?

I was driven to write a poem in which I attempted to put the matter to rest by having sex with her".

I added a link to the notes - Billy himself reading this poem.

[vintagebasilisk]

@sunnyrosegarden What disrespect? It sounds like a remarkably respectful, possibly half-true fantasy by a fellow poet. Naturally with a twinge of humor, as Collins treats everything under the sun, but not at all unkind. It's not like he's fantasizing about doing nasty things to her corpse. It IS provocative since she was so famously reclusive, but it sounds like you want to deny her animal nature entirely which I would regard as at least as disrespectful as Collins' humorously kinky poem.

[sunnyrosegarden]

Perhaps I was not clear enough - the POEM is intrusive, disrespectful and licentious.

I was not referring to a comment someone made but rather to the Collins Poem.

How dare he talk about a deceased person with such disrespect.

[SpokenVerse]

@sunnyrosegarden Thanks. I understood what you said. I was pulling your leg.

[rordar]

@sunnyrosegarden you have no business critiquing poetry, in this case. good day.

[bizintin]

@sunnyrosegarden Dearest Sunnyrosegarden, Perhaps it is a celebration of her and of her life.

[sunnyrosegarden]

How inappropriately intrusive, disrespectful and licentious!

[SpokenVerse]

@sunnyrosegarden I couldn't agree with you more. It's the best quality stuff, right enough.

[candacelove]

Such an unexpected pleasure, to come across this. Thank you.

[kbuenasnoches]

LOOOOVE it!

[gazingintothesea]

It's good to hear someone else read this poem. We have a tendency to be set up for humor when Billy reads and this reading doesn't do that.

[mnolanporter]

Wow! Awesome! Two of my favorite poets getting it on together! Damn.

[dreambeth]

And then of course there is Emily Dickinson... and Billy

[dulcinaandgnome]

So good!

Thanks for reading it.

Would Emily have liked it in life...?

She could only dream about sex, Wild nights,Wild nights!

Anyway, I think she lived and loved more than many other women because she lived and loved spiritually, in a pure and mystic way.

Maybe, after reading this poem, she is laughing in heavens, no skin to cover, finally free from Mother Earth.

:-)

[sassMay]

I like the way he makes it was such an important event that he even hears and remmebers whats going on around them...

[erikmabry]

i really enjoyed this!

[earlgreytempest]

sexy in the best way and poor Emily Dickinson has no idea

[bizintin]

@earlgreytempest Perhaps she does have an idea. Perhaps she touched the poet to write her experience. I remember that upon her death poems were burned that were deemed unappropriate for the world to know. But we know, here now, in the directct link from Emily to the Muse and to Mr. Collllins pen. And I celebrate it all.

[binaryg]

A marvelous reading of this wonderful poem. Thanks for posting.

[yogobaby]

lolllll

[Mime654]

that was creepy and somewhat sexy

[n080di]

I like the yellow eye of a window in the last picture.

[tessler6868]

i don't care for collins, for most part, but this is very fine. more restrained than some of his recent, post-modernesque work.

[cocklesandmussels]

Very nice - thanks for posting.