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.

This is a free talk, held live online via Crowdcast; register and view here.

All authors appear for free and the best way to thank and support them is by buying their books! Andrew’s and Billy’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. See all of the talks 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.