Award-winning poet Billy Collins has been chosen as the 2011 Selected Author for Bexley Community Book Club (BCBC), an initiative of the Bexley Education Foundation (BEF).

Collins, a former U.S. Poet Laureate who is a driving force behind making contemporary poems relevant to students, will appear in Bexley on April 20, 2011 where he will spend the day with students, dine with patrons and present a public lecture and readings of some of his works. A number of exciting events in the months leading up to Collins’s arrival are also in the works; those will be announced in August.

No poet since Robert Frost has managed to combine high critical acclaim with such broad popular appeal as Billy Collins. His work has appeared in publications such as The New Yorker, The Paris Review and The American Scholar.Collins sees his poetry as “a form of travel writing” and considers humor “a door into the serious.” It is a door that many thousands of readers have opened. His readings are usually standing room only, and his audience—buoyed by frequent appearances on National Public Radio—includes people of all backgrounds and ages. His last three collections of poems have broken sales records for poetry.

The Bexley Community Book Club, now in its fourth year, is a unique community-based vehicle for promoting lifelong learning and reading for both students and adults in Bexley and beyond. Past BCBC selected authors include Ann Patchett (2010), Tobias Wolff (2009) and Pete Hamill (2008).

Proceeds from Bexley Community Book Club, derived from sponsorships, ticket sales and book sales, will go to the Bexley Education Foundation to support projects and programs in the Bexley City School District.

Award-winning writer Ann Patchett recently spent the day meeting with students, community members and book lovers as the culmination of the Bexley Community Book Club’s yearlong initiative to promote lifelong learning. Patchett is perhaps best known for her novel, Bel Canto, an international bestseller that has been translated into 30 languages.

Patchett lunched with Bexley High Schools students who submitted essays on why they would like to pursue a career in writing. She then held two seminars discussing her works with students in high school AP and honors English classes.

After a dinner with community leaders, Patchett spoke on “In Praise of Imagination: Why Writing What You Know is Bad Advice,” at Bexley High School. Hosted by 10TV anchor Jerry Revish, the event attracted some 350 readers from Bexley, central Ohio and beyond.

The Media Partner for the Bexley Community Book Club is WBNS 10TV; Promotional Partner, Barnes & Noble Booksellers at Easton; Community Partner, The Ohio State University Creative Writing Program. Lead Sponsors for 2009-2010 are Giant Eagle and Linda and Frank Kass; Literary Sponsors are AEP Ohio, The First Bexley Bank, PNC Bank and US Realty Consultants.