Segue Into an Explanation of Sorts

There is a good reason why I include this poem by Billy Collins. Collins made poetry accessible and fun. He made me realize that a poet didn't have to take themselves so seriously to be successful. Poetry need not be all "sullen craft". That there is room for self-deprecation and parody. In sharp contrast to the poetry heavies Collins came across sort of as the "Woody Allen" of poetry. Even his physical presence kind of reminded me of the comedic director. His sardonic wry humour is unmistakeable even in the way he entitles his poems i.e.: Reading an Anthology of Chinese Poems of the Sung Dynasty,I Pause To Admire the Length and Clarity of Their Titles ; I Chop Some Parsley While Listening to Art Blakey's Version of "Three Blind Mice"; & Another reason why I don't keep a gun in the house.

His poetry made me realize that I could incorporate my sense of humour (if you want to call it that) and still be considered a serious poet. Somehow, when I think about the term "serious poet" the term seems to be a walking contradiction. Poets seem to so serious that they're funny. I'll come back to this when I stop laughing...