Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Arts & Culture
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Arts & Culture

University Lectures Hosts Billy Collins

Wednesday, October 23, 2013, By Kelly Homan Rodoski
Share
College of Arts and SciencesEventsspeakersSyracuse SymposiumUniversity Lectures
Collins NEW - hi-res (Credit Steven Kovich)_cc2 (2)

Former United States Poet Laureate Billy Collins
Photo credit: Steven Kovich

Acclaimed poet and cultural phenomenon Billy Collins will bring his new works to Syracuse University on Wednesday, Oct. 30, as part of the University Lectures series.

“Aimless Love: New and Selected Poetry with Billy Collins” will begin at 7:30 p.m. in Hendricks Chapel and is free and open to the public. American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation and Communication Access Real Time (CART) will be available. Reduced-rate parking will be available in the Irving Garage. Those attending are encouraged to arrive early.

The lecture is sponsored in cooperation with the SU Humanities Center in The College of Arts and Sciences as part of the 2013 Syracuse Symposium: Listening.

No poet since Robert Frost has managed to combine high critical acclaim with such broad popular appeal as Collins has. A former United States Poet Laureate (2001-03) and New York State Poet Laureate (2004-06), Collins sees his poetry as “a form of travel writing” and considers humor “a door into the serious.”

The typical Collins poem opens on a clear and hospitable note but soon takes an unexpected turn; poems that begin in irony may end in a moment of lyric surprise. Collins has published nine collections of poetry, and his work has appeared in a variety of periodicals, including The New Yorker, The Paris Review and The American Scholar. He is a Guggenheim fellow and a New York Public Library “Literary Lion.” Collins’ most recent book, “Aimless Love: New and Selected Poems 2003–2013,” was published in March.

Collins is a Distinguished Professor of English at Lehman College of the City University of New York, as well as a Senior Distinguished Fellow of the Winter Park Institute at Rollins College.

The University Lectures series is now in its 13th year. The last lecturer of the fall 2013 semester is American statesman Sen. George J. Mitchell, in conversation with Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs Dean James Steinberg on “Pan Am 103 and Our World 25 Years Later” (Tuesday, Nov. 12, at 5:30 p.m.—change from the previously announced time). The lecture is part of the University’s commemoration of the 25th anniversary of Pan Am Flight 103.

During the spring 2013 semester, guests will include MSNBC host Chris Hayes, “Twilight of the Elites” (Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2014, at 7:30 p.m.); New Yorker cartoonist and author Roz Chast, “Theories of Everything and Much, Much More” (Wednesday, March 5, 2014, at 7:30 p.m.—change from the previous announced date); actress and playwright Anna Deavere Smith, “Snapshots: Portraits of a World in Transition” (Tuesday, March 25, 2014, at 5 p.m.) and education advocate and author Diane Ravitch, “The Death and Life of the Great American School System” (Tuesday, April 1, 2014, at 7:30 p.m.).

The University Lectures is a cross-disciplinary lecture series that brings to the University individuals of exceptional accomplishment. The series is supported by the generosity of the University’s trustees, alumni and friends. The lectures are free and open to the public.

The Office of University Lectures welcomes suggestions for future speakers. To recommend a speaker, or to receive additional information about the University Lectures series, contact Esther Gray in the Office of Academic Affairs at 315-443-2941 or eegray@syr.edu. More information can be found at http://lectures.syr.edu or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/#!/universitylectures.

 

  • Author

Kelly Rodoski

  • Recent
  • LaunchPad Awards Student Start-Up Fund Grant
    Saturday, July 12, 2025, By Cristina Hatem
  • Class of ’25 College of Law Graduate to Be Inducted Into the U.S. Olympic Hall Of Fame
    Saturday, July 12, 2025, By Caroline K. Reff
  • Empowering Learners With Personalized Microcredentials, Stackable Badges
    Thursday, July 3, 2025, By Hope Alvarez
  • WISE Women’s Business Center Awarded Grant From Empire State Development, Celebrates Entrepreneur of the Year Award
    Thursday, July 3, 2025, By Dawn McWilliams
  • Rose Tardiff ’15: Sparking Innovation With Data, Mapping and More
    Thursday, July 3, 2025, By News Staff

More In Arts & Culture

Vintage Over Digital: Alumnus Dan Cohen’s Voyager CD Bag Merges Music and Fashion

Bucking the trend of streaming music platforms and contrary to what one might expect of a member of his generation, musician Dan Cohen ’25 prefers listening to his favorite artists on compact disc (CD) and record players. His research and…

VPA Announces New Drama Department Chair

The College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) has appointed Eleanor Holdridge as the new chair of the Department of Drama effective July 1. Holdridge comes to Syracuse University from the Catholic University of America, where she served as professor…

Swinging Into Summer: Syracuse International Jazz Fest Returns With Star Power, Student Talent and a Soulful Campus Finale

Get ready for the sweet summer sounds of jazz in the city and on campus. The University is again a sponsor of the Syracuse International Jazz Fest, a five-day celebration of world-class jazz music and community spirit, taking place June…

Tiffany Xu Named Harry der Boghosian Fellow for 2025-26

The School of Architecture has announced that architect Tiffany Xu is the Harry der Boghosian Fellow for 2025–26. Xu will succeed current fellow, Erin Cuevas, and become the tenth fellow at the school. The Boghosian Fellowship at the School of…

Syracuse Stage Concludes 2024-25 Season With ‘The National Pastime’

Syracuse Stage concludes its 2024-25 season with the world premiere production of “The National Pastime,” a provocative psychological thriller about state secrets, sonic weaponry, stolen baseball signs and the father and son relationship in the middle of it all. Written…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2025 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.