Poet Billy Collins, age 74, compares his poems to his wife, Diane Olbright's buildings!!

American poet, William Collins, who often goes by the nick name of Billy likes to compare his poems with his architect wife, Diane Olbright's buildings. 

The famous poet, who was appointed as Poet Laureate of the United States from 2001 to 2003 is a Distinguished Professor at Lehman College of the City University of New York and is the Senior Distinguished Fellow of the Winter Park Institute, Florida. This profound literary artist has also been recognized as Literary Lion of the New York Public Library and selected as the New York State Poet for 2004 through 2006.

Now enough about Billy and let us talk about his poems and Diane’s buildings alright (wink). 

He is married to Diane Olbright and she is an architect, if you did not already know. The couple is happily married and living together for the past few decades. But despite being an old couple, the humor and romance between them has not died at all. And Billy’s comparison of his poems with his wife’s designed buildings proves it all. 

Talking to enotes.com, the 74 year old poet joked that he is in competition with her, planning for his poems to outlast the buildings she designs. Haha, now that is funny, isn’t it? 

Well Diane has been designing buildings for several years now and her landmarks have survived everything and they are still standing tall. And in the same way, Billy's poems are so strong and extraordinary that no matter how many years pass, they shall always be read and recited by further generations. And he might not admit it but we all know how magnificent his writing is. And the writer also revealed how his writings reveal a certain part of his private life. 

Billy’s career took off in 1999 after he received ample amount of popularity when the University of Pittsburgh Press denied Random House the permission to reprint some of his earlier poems. The reason behind it was the monetary value of his work. 

The Universities refusal caused some controversy and the conflict was made public by The New York Times and the online magazine Salon. This incident greatly helped Billy and his work needed publicity. Later, the news about University of Pittsburgh Press and Random House’s feud was published by the media. To this, Billy responded by saying that he would like to forget about the mechanics of publishing and “get back to writing poems.” 

Even though Billy is more focused in his academic career, writing is equally important to him as it is something he is loves and is passionate about. And this is the reason why this old man not only writes but also reads voraciously and has developed a lively schedule of readings and workshops. After all there is saying, “A good writer is a good reader”.

He is famous for his book, Aimless Love and Horoscopes for the Dead. His net worth remains undisclosed.