The Country - Billy Collins Animated Poetry
Sign in to YouTube
Sign in to YouTube
Sign in to YouTube
Uploaded on Jun 29, 2007
Billy Collins, former US Poet Laureate and one of America's best-selling poets, reads his poem "The Country" with animation by Brady Baltezor of Radium.
Noted for their intelligent humor, accessibility and observations on daily life, Collins' popular poems come alive further in a series of animated poems produced by JWT-NY.
Transcript -
I wondered about you
when you told me never to leave
a box of wooden, strike-anywhere matches
lying around the house because the mice
might get into them and start a fire.
But your face was absolutely straight
when you twisted the lid down on the round tin
where the matches, you said, are always stowed.
Who could sleep that night?
Who could whisk away the thought
of the one unlikely mouse
padding along a cold water pipe
behind the floral wallpaper
gripping a single wooden match
between the needles of his teeth?
Who could not see him rounding a corner,
the blue tip scratching against a rough-hewn beam,
the sudden flare, and the creature
for one bright, shining moment
suddenly thrust ahead of his time -
now a fire-starter, now a torchbearer
in a forgotten ritual, little brown druid
illuminating some ancient night.
Who could fail to notice,
lit up in the blazing insulation,
the tiny looks of wonderment on the faces of his fellow mice, onetime inhabitants
of what once was your house in the country?
-
Category
-
License
Standard YouTube License
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
-
0:51
The Dead - Billy Collins Animated Poetryby JWTNYFeatured
836,536
-
1:49
Forgetfulness - Billy Collins Animated Poetryby JWT
226,177 views
-
0:40
Now and Thenby JWTNY
147,387 views
-
0:54
Budapestby JWTNY
128,231 views
-
15:14
Billy Collins: Everyday moments, caught in timeby TEDTalks
90,962 views
-
16
videos
Play all
Poetryby babybunnyberry
-
2:47
"To my favourite 17 year old High-school girl" - Billy Collinsby Luis Azevedo
15,493 views
-
3:21
Charlie Daniels - Late 70's - Long Haired Country Boyby killerclam
3,989,647 views
-
6:05
Poetry by RUMI -- Who Says Words with My Mouthby DJ Kadagian
94,933 views
-
3:05
Billy Collins reads "Rain"by PENamericancenter
14,668 views
-
2:20
The Art of Drowningby Future Shorts
143,294 views
-
2:03
Billy Collins reading 'The Trouble With Poetry'by cednyc
10,140 views
-
3:47
HANK WILLIAMS III - Country Heroesby SToNeR CAM
2,754,308 views
-
2:39
Def Poetry - Julian Curry - Niggers Niggas & Niggazby kfc123's channel
2,195,365 views
-
4:15
Rumi: Say I Am You (Sufi poem)by Children of Light Productions
1,189,561 views
-
1:52
"If" by Rudyard Kipling (read by Tom O'Bedlam)by SpokenVerse
271,586 views
-
4:55
Rik Mayall - Poetry.by TheMilkMan69
274,851 views
-
3:20
Thank God I'm a Country Boy:John Denverby angusyoung111
4,498,161 views
-
2:50
Suitable poetry sketch- A Bit of Fry and Laurie- BBC Comedyby BBC Worldwide
373,120 views
-
4:37
Poetry by RUMI -- Only Breathby DJ Kadagian
329,477 views
-
6:15
Poet Billy Collins reads poetry at White House Poetry Nightby poetryfilmfestival's channel
14,825 views
- Loading more suggestions...
Top Comments
oruga101 4 years ago
I wish someone would animate my poems and read them in a dull monotone.
Sign in to YouTube
Sign in to YouTube
Jeff Trujillo 4 years ago
that was f#c&kin sweet
Sign in to YouTube
Sign in to YouTube
Video Responses
All Comments (148)
Will Simon 2 weeks ago
I'll do the monotone reading!
Sign in to YouTube
Sign in to YouTube
ItsKingPeacock 1 month ago
Then write some better poems. Apparently right now you aren't even worth the monotone, let alone the animation.
Sign in to YouTube
Sign in to YouTube
Courtney x 8 months ago
Haha! I like when he's waving the match around and the other mice are cheering XD
Sign in to YouTube
Sign in to YouTube
acari27 9 months ago
monotone yes...dull?..never...
Sign in to YouTube
Sign in to YouTube
blowery261 10 months ago
Yes, and how would you like it to be read instead?
Sign in to YouTube
Sign in to YouTube
21stcenturyrockpoet 1 year ago
Yeah, great poet and voice.... And the animation is fantastic. Matches poem. Who is this director? And can I get him to do some of my poems?
Sign in to YouTube
Sign in to YouTube
Teri Frazier 1 year ago
It is indeed Billy Collins' talking / reading his own poem. I had the honor of attending a Mercer Press event in Atlanta where he read three poems. He is remarkable via the use of his dry and monotone cadence in rendering a poem to the level of mesmerizing.
Sign in to YouTube
Sign in to YouTube
cutecupkait 1 year ago
I have no idea what it means, but it was pretty. :D
Sign in to YouTube
Sign in to YouTube
acari27 1 year ago
its a brilliant poem..very observant, very imaginative and beautifully quirky...
Sign in to YouTube
Sign in to YouTube