My first encounter with poet Billy Collins occurred more than a decade ago when the leader of a program on Law and Literature opened our session with a reading of “Introduction to Poetry,” a Collins poem that essentially offers the reader a guide to reading poetry. But his words went far beyond poetry, remaining with me since that first reading. The poem suggests approaching poetry as art, not assignment. The message has meaning for all teachers, and I share it with my students on the first day of every class I teach.

But all they want to do
is tie the poem to a chair with rope
and torture a confession out of it.

They begin beating it with a hose
to find out what it really means.

There is a reason that Collins has been dubbed “the most popular poet in America.” His poems are witty, enticing readers with humor and profound observations of life. In addition to my students, I have shared Collins’ poetry with friends and family. Those of my friends now receiving social security and experiencing difficulty in recalling certain life experiences all receive a copy of “Forgetfulness,” which opens with these lines:

The name of the author is the first to go
followed obediently by the title, the plot,
the heartbreaking conclusion, the entire novel
which suddenly becomes one you have never read,
never even heard of,

"Each poem in this collection reminds readers that poetry can do so much. It will take you places you have never been, stimulate your imagination and provide you with extraordinary forms of verbal pleasure."

Collins served two terms as U.S. Poet Laureate. His poetry collections have brought him six-figure advances, and his readings are sold out, and are often issued in video format. In addition to publishing 11 collections of his own poetry, Collins created a program designed to encourage the reading of poetry in high school. His books, POETRY 180: A Turning Back to Poetry, one for each day of the school year, and a second anthology, 180 MORE: Extraordinary Poems for Every Day, are available online, as is the program.

THE RAIN IN PORTUGAL is Collins’ latest collection of poetry, joining a shelf full of previous collections. The 56 poems are a range of observations on life as Collins contemplates diverse subjects, such as William Shakespeare flying in the comfort of first-class air travel and Collins’ personal joy of listening to opera. In “December 1st,” Collins presents a beautiful and touching tribute to his late mother. Anyone who has experienced the loss of a parent and wishes for one more meeting with that parent with find the poem poignant with just a touch of humor. Each poem in this collection reminds readers that poetry can do so much. It will take you places you have never been, stimulate your imagination and provide you with extraordinary forms of verbal pleasure.

Poetry is wasted on the young. We were force-fed epic poems in school and required to memorize pages and pages that after a while were just meaningless words. How wonderful it would have been as a student to have a Billy Collins collection assigned in one of my literature classes. But it is never too late. Grab a copy of one of his collections. Read a poem or two every day. Savor them and read them out loud. Poetry will make you rich while costing you nothing but a few moments of time.