Former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins to Speak at Texas Tech

A notable poet will lecture at Texas Tech next week.

Former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins will speak at the next Texas Tech University Presidential Lecture and Performance Series on Friday, April 20^th.

Collins created an initiative for high school students called Poetry 180, which makes poetry more accessible to students, and gives them a different poem to read each day of the school year.

“Adolescence draws us to poetry as a way of dealing with our estrangement, our new sense of distance from play, and I was no exception,” said Collins. “I loved metaphors. I would put a little flag next to every good one I found in my reading.”

Collins’ most famous works include “Questions About Angels,” “The Art of Drowning,” and “Picnic.”

The U.S. Poet Laureate is appointed by the Library of Congress, and promotes poetry across the nation, in addition to overseeing poetry readings and lectures.

The lecture will take place at 7 p.m. Friday, April 20^th in the Allen Theatre, located inside the Student Union Building on the Texas Tech campus.