ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Billy Collins - Poet
A two-term U.S. Poet Laureate, Billy Collins captures readers with his understated wit, profound insight -- and a sense of being "hospitable."

Why you should listen

Accessibility is not a word often associated with great poetry. Yet Billy Collins has managed to create a legacy from what he calls being poetically “hospitable.” Preferring lyrical simplicity to abstruse intellectualism, Collins combines humility and depth of perception, undercutting light and digestible topics with dark and at times biting humor.

While Collins approaches his work with a healthy sense of self-deprecation, calling his poems “domestic” and “middle class,” John Taylor has said of Collins: “Rarely has anyone written poems that appear so transparent on the surface yet become so ambiguous, thought-provoking, or simply wise once the reader has peered into the depths.”

In 2001 he was named U.S. Poet Laureate, a title he kept until 2003. Collins lives in Somers, New York, and is an English professor at City University of New York, where he has taught for more than 40 years.

Credits for the animations in this talk:

"Budapest," "Forgetfulness" and "Some Days" -- animation by Julian Grey/Head Gear

"The Country" -- animation by Brady Baltezor/Radium

"The Dead" -- animation by Juan Delcan/Spontaneous

More profile about the speaker
Billy Collins | Speaker | TED.com

TED2014

Billy Collins: Two poems about what dogs think (probably)

Billy Collins: Deux poèmes sur ce que pensent les chiens (probablement)

Filmed: 2014-03-20

Readability: 3.1

1,748,151 views

À quoi pensent nos chiens lorsqu'ils nous regardent? Le poète Billy Collins s'imagine la vie intérieure de deux compagnons très différents. C'est un court discours, charmant, parfait pour une petite pause de rêverie...

Billy Collins - Poet
A two-term U.S. Poet Laureate, Billy Collins captures readers with his understated wit, profound insight -- and a sense of being "hospitable." Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:13

I don't know if you've noticed,

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Je ne sais pas si vous avez remarqué

00:14

but there's been a spate of books

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mais une vague de livres

00:16

that have come out lately

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ont été publiés récemment

00:17

contemplating or speculating

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des contemplations et réflexions

00:20

on the cognition and emotional life of dogs.

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sur la perception et la vie
émotionnelle des chiens.

00:24

Do they think, do they feel and, if so, how?

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Est-ce qu'ils réfléchissent? Qu'est-ce
qu'ils ressentent? Si oui, comment?

00:27

So this afternoon, in my limited time,

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Ainsi cet après midi, dans un temps limité

00:29

I wanted to take the guesswork out of a lot of that

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Je voudrais tenter de trouver
la réponse à ces questions

00:31

by introducing you to two dogs,

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en vous présentant deux chiens,

00:34

both of whom have taken the command "speak"

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deux chiens ayant décidé de s'exprimer

00:39

quite literally.

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littéralement.

00:43

The first dog is the first to go,

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Le premier chien se lance,

00:46

and he is contemplating an aspect

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il contemple un aspect

00:50

of his relationship to his owner,

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de sa relation avec son maître

00:52

and the title is "A Dog on His Master."

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et le titre est 'Le Chien à Propos de son Maître'.

00:57

"As young as I look,

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«Aussi jeune que je parais,

00:59

I am growing older faster than he.

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Je vieillis plus vite que lui.

01:02

Seven to one is the ratio, they tend to say.

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7 fois plus rapidement,
c'est ce qu'ils disent.

01:06

Whatever the number, I will pass him one day

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Qu'importe le chiffre,
un jour je le dépasserai

01:09

and take the lead,

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et je prendrai le devant,

01:11

the way I do on our walks in the woods,

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comme lors de nos ballades en forêt,

01:14

and if this ever manages to cross his mind,

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et si cela lui traverse l'esprit

01:18

it would be the sweetest shadow

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ce serait l'ombre la plus douce

01:20

I have ever cast on snow or grass."

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que j'aurais jamais jeté
sur la neige ou l'herbe.

(Applaudissements)

01:25

(Applause)

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01:28

Thank you.

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Merci.

01:31

And our next dog

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Et notre prochain chien

01:34

speaks in something called the revenant,

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nous parle de revenant,

01:37

which means a spirit that comes back

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c'est à dire un esprit qui revient

01:39

to visit you.

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vous voir.

01:43

"I am the dog you put to sleep,

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'Je suis le chien que tu as endormi,

01:47

as you like to call the needle of oblivion,

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C'est ainsi que tu préfères
appeler l'aiguille de l'oubli,

01:50

come back to tell you this simple thing:

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Je reviens pour te dire
une chose fort simple

01:53

I never liked you."

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Je ne t'ai jamais aimé.»

01:55

(Laughter)

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(rires)

01:57

"When I licked your face,

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«Lorsque je te léchais la figure,

01:59

I thought of biting off your nose.

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je voulais mordre ton nez.

02:02

When I watched you toweling yourself dry,

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Lorsque je te voyais
te sécher avec la serviette,

02:05

I wanted to leap and unman you with a snap.

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Je voulais tant bondir
et t'émasculer, clac!

02:09

I resented the way you moved,

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Je n'aimais pas la façon
dont tu te déplaçais,

02:11

your lack of animal grace,

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ton manque de grâce animale,

02:13

the way you would sit in a chair to eat,

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la façon dont tu t'asseyais
sur une chaise pour manger,

02:16

a napkin on your lap, a knife in your hand.

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une serviette sur tes genoux,
un couteau à la main.

02:20

I would have run away

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J'aurais fui

02:22

but I was too weak,

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mais j'étais trop faible,

02:23

a trick you taught me

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tu m'appris des tours

02:25

while I was learning to sit and heel

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j’apprenais à m'asseoir, m'agenouiller

02:28

and, greatest of insults,

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et, le plus grand des châtiments,

02:30

shake hands without a hand.

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serrer la main sans main.

02:34

I admit the sight of the leash would excite me,

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J'avoue que la laisse m'excitait,

02:38

but only because it meant I was about to smell things

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mais seulement car ainsi
je pouvais sentir des choses

02:41

you had never touched.

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que tu n'avais jamais touché.

02:46

You do not want to believe this,

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Tu ne me croirais pas,

02:47

but I have no reason to lie:

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mais je t'assures que je ne mens pas:

02:50

I hated the car, hated the rubber toys,

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Je détestais la voiture,
détestais les jouets en plastique

02:54

disliked your friends, and worse, your relatives.

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méprisais tes amis, et pire, ta famille.

02:59

The jingling of my tags drove me mad.

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Le tintement de mon collier
me rendait fou.

03:03

You always scratched me in the wrong place."

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Tu me grattais toujours
aux mauvais endroits.»

03:06

(Laughter)

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(Rires)

03:08

"All I ever wanted from you was food and water

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«Tout ce que je voulais de toi
c'était de la nourriture et de l'eau

03:11

in my bowls.

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dans mon bol.

03:13

While you slept, I watched you breathe

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Pendant que tu dormais,
je te regardais respirer

03:15

as the moon rose in the sky.

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alors que la lune montait dans le ciel.

03:17

It took all of my strength

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Je faisais des efforts surhumains

03:19

not to raise my head and howl.

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pour ne pas lever ma tête et hurler.

03:22

Now, I am free of the collar,

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À présent, je suis libéré du collier,

03:24

free of the yellow raincoat,

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libéré de l'imperméable jaune,

03:27

monogrammed sweater,

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du pull à monogramme,

03:29

the absurdity of your lawn,

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l'absurdité de ta pelouse,

03:32

and that is all you need to know about this place,

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et voilà tout ce dont tu as besoin
de savoir à propos de cet endroit

03:35

except what you already supposed

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à part ce que tu avais déjà deviné

03:38

and are glad it did not happen sooner,

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et qui heureusement,
ne s'est pas produit plus tôt,

03:40

that everyone here can read and write,

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tout le monde sait lire et écrire ici,

03:43

the dogs in poetry,

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les chiens en vers,

03:47

the cats and all the others

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les chats et tout les autres

03:50

in prose."

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en prose.»

03:52

Thank you.

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Merci.

03:54

(Applause)

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(Applaudissements)

Translated by Chloé Salmon

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Billy Collins - Poet
A two-term U.S. Poet Laureate, Billy Collins captures readers with his understated wit, profound insight -- and a sense of being "hospitable."

Why you should listen

Accessibility is not a word often associated with great poetry. Yet Billy Collins has managed to create a legacy from what he calls being poetically “hospitable.” Preferring lyrical simplicity to abstruse intellectualism, Collins combines humility and depth of perception, undercutting light and digestible topics with dark and at times biting humor.

While Collins approaches his work with a healthy sense of self-deprecation, calling his poems “domestic” and “middle class,” John Taylor has said of Collins: “Rarely has anyone written poems that appear so transparent on the surface yet become so ambiguous, thought-provoking, or simply wise once the reader has peered into the depths.”

In 2001 he was named U.S. Poet Laureate, a title he kept until 2003. Collins lives in Somers, New York, and is an English professor at City University of New York, where he has taught for more than 40 years.

Credits for the animations in this talk:

"Budapest," "Forgetfulness" and "Some Days" -- animation by Julian Grey/Head Gear

"The Country" -- animation by Brady Baltezor/Radium

"The Dead" -- animation by Juan Delcan/Spontaneous

More profile about the speaker
Billy Collins | Speaker | TED.com

THE ORIGINAL VIDEO ON TED.COM

Billy Collins: Deux poèmes sur ce que pensent les chiens (probablement) | TED Talk | TED.com