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Born in NYC, NY. Katherine Collins, Billy's mother, quits her job as a nurse to raise him full time. She could recite verses on many topics and in doing so inspired Billy's love for words. Billy goes on to attend Archbishop Stepinac Highschool in White Plains, NY.
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Receives B.A. from College of the Holy Cross. Goes on to earn his M.A. and PhD from Univeristy of California-Riverside.
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Begins teaching at Lehman College. He has also taught at Sarah Lawrence and Columbia University.
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Co-founds the Mid-Atlantic Review with Michael Shannon
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Chosen by the New York Public Library to serve as Literary Lion.
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U.S. magazine Poetry recognizes Collins as Poet of the Year.
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Releases CD titled The Best Cigarette featuring 34 of his poems.
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Serves 2 terms as U.S. Poet Laureate
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Billy Collins is asked to write a poem commemorating the 1st anniversary fo the fall of the twin towers. He writes The Names and gives a reading of the poem in fron of a joint session of Congress held outside of Washington, DC on 10/06/2002.
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Serves as New York State Poet Laureate
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Wins the Mark Twain Prize for Humor in Poetry.
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Lives in Somers, NY. He currently serves on the Editorial Board of the Alaska Quarterly Review as well as the Advisory Board at the Southern Review.
