Hello and welcome to my ArcGIS StoryMaps mapping project, called “Mappamundi” after a Billy Collins poem of the same name.

Mappamundi opens with an excerpt of Collins’ poem, before going on to explain the inspiration behind this project, which maps nineteen Billy Collins poem titles containing geographical references onto a map of the world.

For this project, I scoured the web for Billy Collins’ work. I tried to find a complete bibliography of his works that would include titles of each poem, but was unable to do so. I first visited the Poetry Foundation for an extensive list of his publicly available poems, then I browsed Amazon and looked through the free previews, which thankfully included tables of contents with the names of each poem contained therein.

After gathering the names with geographical references to various places, I set about placing them on a map of the world. From this, I was able to understand and visualize Collins’ Mediterranean and rural American influences.

In the interest of full disclosure, I am not entirely certain that I have managed to find each and every last Billy Collins poem with a geographical references, so this map may not be complete. There are, however, enough data points to discern recognizable patterns.

You will find more information on my methods, and on Billy Collins himself, by visiting my project page.

If I’ve missed your favorite Billy Collins poem, let me know!