Billy Collins

Billy Collins
Collins in 2015
Born	William James Collins (1941-03-22) March 22, 1941 (age 83) New York City, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Poet author professor
Education	College of the Holy Cross (BA) University of California, Riverside (MA, PhD)
Notable works	The Apple That Astonished Paris Questions About Angels The Art of Drowning
Notable awards	Norman Mailer Prize for Poetry (2014) Helmerich Award (2016) American Academy of Arts and Letters (2016)
Spouse	Diane Olbright ​ ​ (m. 1977, divorced)​ Suzannah Gail Collins ​ ​ (m. 2019)​
United States Poet Laureate
In office 2001–2003
Preceded by	Stanley Kunitz
Succeeded by	Louise Glück
Poet Laureate of New York
In office 2004–2006
Preceded by	John Ashbery
Succeeded by	Jean Valentine

William James Collins (born March 22, 1941) is an American poet who served as the Poet Laureate of the United States from 2001 to 2003.^[1] He was a Distinguished Professor at Lehman College of the City University of New York, retiring in 2016. Collins was recognized as a Literary Lion of the New York Public Library (1992) and selected as the New York State Poet for 2004 through 2006. In 2016, Collins was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters.^[2] As of 2020, he is a teacher in the MFA program at Stony Brook Southampton.