Billy Collins Quotes
I don't think anybody reads a book of poetry front to back. Editors and reviewers only. I don't think anybody else does.
Quotes to Explore
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Hands down, the biggest thrill is to get a letter from a kid saying, I loved your book. Will you write me another one?
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The books that help you most are those which make you think that most. The hardest way of learning is that of easy reading; but a great book that comes from a great thinker is a ship of thought, deep freighted with truth and beauty.
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My favorite book is 'Go Away Big Green Monster.' I wrote it for my granddaughter Adrian, who was in the third grade at the time.
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It takes me a long time writing books. It takes me about five years to write a book, and when I'm done, the last thing I want to do is to do it again.
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For awhile after you quit Keats all other poetry seems to be only whistling or humming.
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I don't really read 'business books,' and I didn't think 'The Paradox of Choice' was a business book. I'm very surprised and gratified that the business world thought it was one.
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I never want to write a book just to tell a story. There is always something deeper going on.
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After 20 years, a million written words, and nine rejected novels, I finally landed a book contract.
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I'm basically a know-it-all, and I'm writing a book about it. I want it to be called 'Danson on Water' and have me on the cover in this Christlike pose, standing on the water.
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I don't read horror, ever. When I was 15, I made the mistake of reading part of 'The Exorcist.' It was the first and last horror book I've ever opened.
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I like to believe, as a writer, that anybody who isn't a reader yet has just not found the right book.
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You have to understand that while I pre-plot the meta story of a given book, I often have no idea of what will happen on the next page, let alone the next chapter. That's what makes it fun for me; I write the books the same way many people read them.
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It's easier to release an ebook than a print book.
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Having a lot of people suddenly depending on me to get the job done was a marvelous motivator. The book and movie deals seemed to flip a switch in my head, and off I went.
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A poet's autobiography is his poetry. Anything else is just a footnote.
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Writing is a solitary journey, so I am always excited to go out on book tour and meet readers one-on-one.
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I bought the rights to this book, 'The Ploughmen,' by a Montana writer named Kim Zupan, and I've written the screenplay, and I really feel pretty strong about it. It's really hauntingly beautiful. It's got some suspense and great drama, but it's a real character thing.
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Let us remember: One book, one pen, one child, and one teacher can change the world.
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I write in a very peculiar way. I think about a book for 25 or 30 years in a kind of inchoate way, and at one point or another, I realize the book is ready to be written. I usually have a character, a first line, and general idea of what the book is going to be about.
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People have told me that I'm courageous, but I have seen greater courage.
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It's clearly more important to treat one's fellow man well than to be always praying and fasting and touching one's head to a prayer mat.
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I pay attention to lyrics and I know what rap fans care about. I try to write for the average listener and I'm conscious of the mainstream without selling out.
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I don't think anybody reads a book of poetry front to back. Editors and reviewers only. I don't think anybody else does.
