Despite his stature as former U.S. poet laureate and his achievement of the nearly impossible — great commercial success as a living poet — Billy Collins cringes at the idea of being a leader. “Leadership to me suggests that there’s a place to lead the person to,” he says. “Whereas poetry is actually the home of ambiguity, ambivalence and uncertainty.”
Collins, 73, nevertheless agreed to join our On Leadership series (perhaps from the same place of curiosity and playful humor that infuses so many of his poems). The author of collections like Aimless Love and Taking Off Emily Dickinson’s Clothes talks to us about why poetry and leadership feel fundamentally incompatible to him, the responsibility an artist has to be true to his vision of the world, and how gratitude can be one of our most powerful emotions.
“With poetry,” Collins says, “you don’t have to go through a windshield to realize that life is precious.”
The conversation has been lightly edited for length and clarity. You can also listen to the podcast with Billy Collins.
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