Michael Collins was named Poet Laureate of the Town and Village of Mamaroneck in 2022. He succeeds Mary Louise Cox, a beloved and long-time leader who enhanced the presence and appreciation of poetry and literary arts in our community. Collins has resided in Mamaroneck for twelve years with his wife and two young children. He holds a BA, MFA in creative writing, and MA in literature. He has a significant body of published work and years of experience participating in and running poetry readings. He is an adjunct assistant professor at New York University, and his years of teaching experience range from children’s classes at the Hudson Valley Writers Center to teaching creative writing to adult students, some learning English as a second language.
Collins will be offering a community lecture series at the Mamaroneck Library beginning on Sunday, May 7th. Please check the library events calendar for details.
Self-Portrait, by Michael Collins
The sun’s warmth had once seemed to blend all waters
together in one harbor; winter’s star lends
only light, and ice remembers that it is
a separate temporal being, slender life struggling
to live within the patient, quiet currents
as they give it shape, their movements keeping it
translucent; otherwise he could not look down
and see the dark waves palpitate their rhythms
underneath it, could not perceive this giant,
ancient heart through that impossible eyesight
the soul guides from here into its other world,
disclosed by what imagines to contain it.
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