Completely enjoyable cover to cover. Loved the wry humor, the musicality of the poems, and the ability to read a few at a time and take a time out from harsher realities.

Not the Billy Collins I have always loved. This collection falls short of his usual cleverness. Most of the poems lack a kind of connectivity to the reader and a depth that would make them last in the mind and in the heart.

Bite size poems that deliver huge rewards. Funny and poignant, often at the same time. Billy Collins has the ability to sum up an entire experience in just one or two stanzas.

The author's note at the end sets the tone for the collection and should be read first. I would have enjoys this book much more if I had a better understanding of the short poem and what Collins was trying to say. It's an interesting form and I'm glad this book highlights it.

That being said, this was not my favorite Billy Collins. A third of the poems were beautiful, a third almost silly puns or "dad jokes", and a third fell flat for me. I would love to hear Collins narrate this for the audiobook.

I do hope the author continues with this form, and maybe intersperses them with longer poems in his next collection.

Thank you Billy Collins, Random House Publishing Group - Random House, Random House, and Netgalley for this free advanced reader copy (arc) of "Musical Tables: Poems" for an honest review.

How could anyone not see a new Billy Collins poetry release and not jump at it? Certainly, I could not. As a teacher and a lover of poetry, I always find my way back to Collins for each new release, even if sometimes I'm a little later than others. This book surprised me, as I hadn't expected all of the poems to be so bite-sized (like the current confessional poetry trend of them). It's very poetry genre reminiscent of writing one-sentence stories (ala "For sale: baby shoes, never worn").

It doesn't land in all of the poems. Still, sometimes these little delights, with anywhere between five and ten words, suddenly slam into your heart or memories so clearly and cleanly that you can see how much mastery has to go into truncating your word choice so greatly for maximum effect. I will have this in my classroom and advise students/friends to read it.

I was so happy to find "Musical Tables" - it gave me a name for a poetic form I had long enjoyed: the short poem.

And Billy Collins is a amazing practitioner of the form - the world contained in just a few short lines. Almost every page holds a profound truth or observation that leaves you wondering why you hadn't noticed it before. And some are just plain funny, like "The Code of the West." Some are full of a painful sadness like "Breaking Up" :

"Like the nomadic dollar
I pass to the cashier

behind the register
you are off to other hands."

I did find that the longer the poem, the quality of Collins' observations decreased. "Random" is an example of this. And certainly not every poem makes you stop and ponder. But most of them do touch, and leave their mark on the reader's thoughts.

I definitely recommend this book, and will be looking for more of Collins's work after this introduction to it.

Usually I love a Billy Collins collection. But these poems weren't small for me in the sense of being concentrated and packing a quick punch; instead they were small, ephemeral, and ultimately seemed insubstantial.

Some of these small poems slayed me. A dog, love, A used book. Some of the subject matter is meant for me. And then some I don't get at all. I must admit as a whole I enjoy the longer ones, but like this endeavor of his. Amusing, thought provoking and relatable.

Copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley

I fell in love with Billy Collins’ poetry in the 90s, when his hallmark as a poet was wondering at and delighting in the everyday world, as well as meditating on life, history, and literature. For some time now, however, his poetry has instead demonstrated a gloomy fixation on death and mortality. Artistically these may still be fine poems, but that’s not what I read Billy Collins for.

His latest collection is a merciful departure from this bleakness. These are “small poems,” so he often doesn’t have the space to take the reader on the diverting handheld journeys he was was so accoladed for decades ago. But there are still glimpses of the Billy Collins of old here. This collection was the first in a while to have me bookmarking poems that resonated like a tuning fork in my mind.

I picked up this book because of the cow on the chair and the color scheme of the cover art. The muted green adds to the serenity of the cow seated with its legs tucked beneath its body, looking comfortable like a cat in loaf mode. Billy Collins is a familiar name to me, but I hate to admit that it is only the barest familiarity.

“Whenever I pick up a new book of poems, I flip through the pages looking for small ones. Just as I might have trust in an abstract painter more if I knew he or she could draw a credible chicken, I have faith in poets who can go short.”
Billy Collins

I admit I do the same when I pick up a book of poetry at a bookstore. I flip and read a couple of the shorter poems, and if they make me feel things, the book comes home with me. This method rarely fails me and I have loved nearly every book chosen in this way.

Unfortunately I don’t think the short form works so well as a complete collection. Most of these poems are a couple lines long, mere quips rather than fully formed thoughts. Some are amusing and made me crack a grin. Others are more heavy hitting. Some of my favorites are Headstones, The Code of the West, Teenager, A Small Hotel, Jazz Man, Divorce, and Carpe Diem.

No more heavy ball,
just the sound
of the dragged chain
with every other step.
Divorce

⭐️⭐️⭐️ for me. This wasn’t my favorite, but there are some real standouts that make it a worthwhile read. Billy Collins is a former United States Poet Laureate and prolific writer and I don’t believe this is representative of his work, so I will be reading more to get a better feel for him. If you like short form poetry that isn’t haiku nor limerick, you’ll enjoy this.

I discovered the poetry of Billy Collins about twenty years ago and promptly fell in love with his wry humor and play on words. I'm amassing his entire collection, because his work brings me such delight.

In Musical Tables, Collins explores the format of small poems, demonstrating the expertise of painting a picture or telling a story in such a small footprint: "These days, whenever I pick up a new book of poems, I flip through the pages looking for small ones. Just as I might trust an abstract expressionist more if I knew he or she could draw a credible chicken, I have faith in poets who can go short."

Take the charm of the poem "3:00 AM," which reads in its entirety, "Only my hand / is asleep, / but it's a start." Or "Morning Walk," where we observe, "The dog stops often / to sniff the poems of others / before reciting her own."

In ultimate proof of my pleasure, I finished this book while exercising, finding myself at multiple points with a wide grin and amused laugh due to Collins' wordplay, not a familiar (or easy) reaction when sweating doing cardio on my stationary bike. And I couldn't help but feel guilty when I encountered the poem, "Page-Turner" ("Desirable / in fiction. / Not so much / with a slim book of poems."). Surely Billy Collins would forgive a girl for inhaling the last section of the book because she was welcoming a pleasant distraction.

Musical Tables is a perfect respite from the world, when attention spans are short or if one just has a brief moment of downtime but a desire to be revived, to see the world through a new lens.

(I received a digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.)

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Random House Publishing Group- Random House for an advanced copy of this collection of short poems.

Back in the day when numerous newspapers vied for the eyes of readers at newstands it was the headlines that grabbed people, and made them surrender their hard earned quarters. Cows Lose Job as Milk Prices Drop. Forecasters call for Weather on Monday. Or Ford to City- Drop Dead. An entire tale, humorous,full of pathos, and something that drew the mind and make a person think. And short. Musical Tables, a collection of short poems by Billy Collins, two term Poet Laureate of the United States, are tiny tales that tell a lot about life, love, aging and our weird times, with a little humor a bit of love, and even more hope.

Upon getting a new book of poems Billy Collins likes to flip through and find the short pieces, sort of a way of breaking the ice, meeting the poet and finding out what the works might be like. In this collection 125 works are gathered, some a few words, more a few sentences from haiku to whatever he feels like. Themes run from aging, love, losing things, losing others, losing one's place in life, and losing the mind over what is happening around us all. Some are funny, many are punny, but all show a skill that many people might assume is easy, but is not, not at all. Trying to find the words to make a portrait in the mind that is short to read, but long to mull on, sometimes with multiple meanings, that is not easy.

While it might seem like doodlings, in fact at one point he mentions pulling the car over to write some words down, these show quite a bit more thinking than even Collins wants to admit. The collection should be a breeze to flip through, it is not. Like reading a Lydia Davis short short story, there are many ways to think of these poems, and even to look at them, and see how the words fit. Why these words, would something else have worked? How would the meaning have changed? What is the meaning? Quite a few of these lodge into the brain, refusing to pay rent and making the reader spend a day or two thinking about them, and why they stay with the reader. If it is not apparent, I really enjoyed this collection.

I didn't want to give examples, as even a brief excerpt or a phrase might give something away, or weaken a poem when read later. Billy Collins is telling us something here. Maybe he understands the fact that world is getting harder and harder to follow, weirder, dangerous and stupid all at the same time. Distraction and COVID- brain fog, even for the ones who avoided getting ill, seem the new normal. Short sharp shocks of words might be what gets us back to normal, or at least remind us that once there was a normal. Or is it that we are so far gone that we are only capable of reading a few words at a time, comprehending so little and understanding far less. Recommended for poets, lovers of poetry and poets, songwriters to get the idea that lyrics can be strong in a few words.

Billy Collins is one of my favorite poets for adults. He's the king of approachable poetry, and I generally love the way his poems start out in such ordinary scenes but then wander a bit into unknown or unexpected territory. In hearing him read live, I've heard him share some of his short poems, and I enjoyed many of those, too. But I have to say this collection isn't really for me. Many of them are simply puns written as poems, such as "4'33" by John Cage" and "Child Astronomy." There are occasional ones that do create a mood, an atmosphere, and give me something to think about further, such as "Falling Asleep" and "Summer." But for most of them, I just hear a kind of "ba-doop-boom" Dad-joke sound effect in my head after I read them.

I'm sure this collection will find some new fans for Collins, and I do believe any writer should be able to explore new directions! Unfortunately this direction isn't for me. I've been looking forward to Collins' new book for months, and I'm disappointed to be so disappointed in it. :>(

Review copy provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

By Sue Gilmore
Bay City News Foundation

A man of few (choice) words: There are many, I believe, who share my opinion that Billy Collins, U.S. poet laureate for two terms from 2001-03 and New York’s from 2004-06, is a national treasure. The author of 11 celebrated books of poetry, including “Aimless Love,” “Sailing Alone Around the Room, “Nine Horses” and “The Art of Drowning,” he is revered for his humor, his accessibility and a trademark style that takes an ordinary, even humdrum, subject and elevates it to the point where revelations, and even profundities, emerge. On Nov. 15, Random House is releasing his new work, “Musical Tables” ($26, 176 pages), a collection of more than 125 “small” poems, each a strong confirmation that brevity is indeed the soul of wit. Here is the poet’s own witty manifesto in defense of the new book: “Whenever I pick up a new book of poems, I flip through the pages looking for small ones. Just as I might have trust in an abstract painter more if I knew he or she could draw a credible chicken, I have faith in poets who can go short.” The press announcement of its publication includes one such shortie titled “3:00 a.m.” that provokes both a smile and a nod of the head:

Only my hand

is asleep

but it’s a start

I dug a little deeper into the new collection and was both charmed and taken a trifle aback by this wry little meditation on mortality:

Neighborhood

What do I care

that they’re tearing down

the nice old houses

and putting up brutal ones?

Before very long,

I’ll be just a breeze

Blowing around town,

trying to avoid all the wind chimes.

Fans of Collins will want to know that he will be in San Francisco on Nov. 12 for two events. He will be one of five authors featured in the 34th Annual Authors Luncheon fundraiser sponsored by the National Kidney Foundation. It will be held at the Palace Hotel, beginning with an 11 a.m. book signing in person, followed by the noon luncheon program (both in-person and virtual) and concluding with another book signing at 2:30 p.m. Host Michael Krasny will moderate, introducing Collins and the four other authors: Jennifer Egan (“The Candy House”), Michael Connelly (Desert Star”), Siddhartha Mukherjee (“The Song of the Cell”) and local Oakland novelist Margaret Wilkerson Sexton (“On the Rooftop”). Tickets are $75 or $150 for virtual attendance only (with one and two book copies included); in-person tickets range from $250 to $50,000. For more information, contact Christina Davis at (415) 543-3303, ext. 541 or christina.davis@kidney.org. Collins will then head north to Corte Madera for both an in-person and a virtual appearance at Book Passage at 6 p.m. The ticketed event costs $32 for live and online attendees and includes a copy of “Musical Chairs.” Sign up at bookpassage.com.

What a fun book of poetry! I've always enjoyed Billy Collins' work, and these short poems are wonderful. I found myself smiling the whole time I read. This entire book could be read in one sitting, but why? Each poem is a gem, and I look forward to reading them over and over. Many thanks to Mr. Collins, Random House, and NetGalley for the ARC of this title.

Musical Tables is Billy Collins Unplugged: engaging, playful and voicing the joy of poetry in short, spirited breaths.

Poems full of imagination, humor and heart. An accessible collection which I will be recommending to patrons as well as reading and re-reading myself.

As indicated by the title, these absurdist poems will no doubt engage and surprise! Signature Billy Collins in micro-bite size morsels. I'm thinking of those "fun size" candy bars that always delight.

Absolutely loved this book of short poems by Billy Collins. Writing short poems is its own craft and Collins does it so well. Favorites include “Divorce” and “A Rake’s Progress.” Highly recommend.

A delightful collection of poems that I will be making sure to keep copies on hand. If the cover doesn't sell it (just look at her!) then the contents resonating with the right reader should.