Library of Congress Anthrax Tests Delay New Poet Laureate’s Debut

Disappointed that the anthrax threat delayed his debut, the country’s new poet laureate philosophized Thursday about death as a framework for life.

Billy Collins was to have read from his poetry Thursday night at the Library of Congress, one of the main duties of the poet laureate. The reading was canceled because of tests of the library buildings for anthrax and was tentatively rescheduled for Dec. 6.

In a telephone interview from Somers, his New York state home, Collins said contemplation of death should not be considered gloomy.

“Death is what makes life fun,” he said, adding that periods of great loss of life make individuals “de-center” themselves and realize that they are not the center of the universe.

“Mortality has always been the subject of poetry, going back to the early Latins,” Collins said. “‘Carpe diem,’ they said, meaning ‘seize the day’ because you’re mortal. . . . The massive loss of life on Sept. 11, with maybe more to come--that sharpens people’s perceptions--moves them toward the perspective that poetry has always maintained.”

Collins has been traveling around the United States since the attack, crisscrossing the country on 17 plane trips.