Dubbed “the most popular poet in America,” Billy Collins is famous for conversational, witty poems that welcome readers with humor but often slip into quirky, tender, or profound observations on the everyday, reading and writing, and poetry itself. Collins’s level of fame is almost unprecedented in the world of contemporary poetry: his readings regularly sell out. He served two terms as the US poet laureate; his latest book of poems is Whale Day And Other Poems.

He will be joined by former UK Poet Laureate Sir Andrew Motion. A poet, novelist and biographer, he was Poet Laureate in the United Kingdom from 1999 to 2009. He founded the Poetry Archive, an online resource of poems and audio recordings of poets reading their own work. Known for narrative poems that often take up historical events in a meditative mode, Motion’s poetry manages clarity of expression while hinting at turbulent or unresolved depths. He has said of his own work, “I want my writing to be as clear as water. I want readers to see all the way through its surfaces into the swamp." His latest collection of poems is titled, Randomly Moving Particles.  He is the Homewood Professor of the Arts at Johns Hopkins University.

Both Billy and Andrew appear for free and the best way you can support them is to buy their book. Billy and Andrew's books are available from Festival partner Watchung Booksellers here.

This event is part of Succeed2gether’s Montclair Literary Festival's special series of author events, Global Voices taking place on March 20 and March 21, 2021, and featuring authors and poets from England, Scotland, Ireland, Korea, Iran, Dubai, Sri Lanka, Ecuador, and Spain.  The fifth annual Montclair Literary Festival will take place on Saturday October 2, 2021, with a combination of live and online events.

See all of the talks by following us on Crowdcast here or visiting our website events page here.

Any proceeds from the festival benefit parent organization, Montclair-based non-profit Succeed2gether, which offers after-school one-on-one tutoring and enrichment classes with the aim of closing the education and opportunity gaps in Essex County, NJ. You can read more about Succeed2gether and the festival at www.succeed2gether.org.

The festival organizing committee wishes to thank event partners Montclair Public Library and Watchung Booksellers, and festival sponsors Rao's, West of Hudson Realty Group, Jill Williams (Ameriprise Financial), Ferguson Dental, the County of Essex, and community members.

Poets in Conversation with Andrew Motion and Billy Collins