Billy Collins, people's poet, teacher, and poet laureate of the United States from 2001-3, does not participate in social media. Collins says, "I am a nonparticipant of social media. I'm not much attracted to anything that involves the willing forfeiture of privacy and the foregrounding of insignificance."
Collins also does not tweet. He feels, "I am struck by the apparent coincidence of the 140 characters - sounds like a Balzac novel - and the 140 syllables in the Elizabethan sonnet. Instead of tweeting that you had great pizza tonight, why not read some haiku by Buson? Doesn't poetry seem just right for our ever shrinking attention span?"
Billy Collins is the every day poet. He appeals to the masses with his takes on life and creativity. Will his attitude change as social media grows and affects his outreach?
Consider what he says about the "foregrounding of insignificance." When individuals share their moments and emotions on Facebook or via Twitter, how can those details of life become viewed as "insignificant"? Does communication of incidentals help us?
Writers need to remain open to all forms of communication or get left behind. How would you use 140 characters to support or refute his view?
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