The Furious Spinner

On the way to Portland today, I was listening to Prairie Home Companion where Billy Collins was a guest. Either I never knew or I had forgotten he is funny! (When I'm depressed, I forget anything was ever funny.) First he was talking about how he'd read that when writing fiction you should never use the word "suddenly." Only hacks use the word "suddenly." (By the way, I use the word "suddenly." I used it 19 times in Church of the Old Mermaids. But I never ever never ever say "I found myself in the living room," or any other place, unless the character did just wake up from a coma and "found herself" in the living room.) Anyway, he then read Tension. I think his poems are meant to be read aloud. It was much funnier when he was reading it. A bit later he read Revenant. I was laughing outloud by myself in the car going 75 miles down the expressway. It begins with:

"I am the dog you put to sleep,
as you like to call the needle of oblivion,
come back to tell you this simple thing:
I never liked you -- not one bit."

Later I was thinking that some of my happiest moments have taken place in a car. (No, not that. I never liked making out in a car. Too afraid of maniacs with steel claws that could get caught in the car door.) No, I just often feel free in a car, with the radio turned up, just going, going, gone. I know many Americans feel the same way. It's strange and pathetic, but there it is. It's always been important that I have an exit. For about the first twenty-five years of my life, give or take, I always looked for the exit as soon as I walked into a room or a building. Felt better if there were several exits. I suppose this is what happens when people feel rootless. Always on the go. The wheels are a spinnin'!

But suddenly I digress. This was about Billy Collins. He's a funny guy, and I needed and appreciated the giggle.

Thanks, Billy.

Labels: poems

1 comments

1 Comments:

Love Billy Collins. He's grand. And you're right, miss no opportunity to hear him read aloud - funny and antiestablishment without any loss of smarts or heart.

By Theriomorph, at 6:19 AM  

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