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Summary: Lilting and soulful
Review: Mary Oliver is a poet of the human spirit. Her use of metaphor is so rich I felt as though I was experiencing the beauty and intensity of nature with the author. I never thought I wanted to write poetry until I read Oliver. Now I sit and watch the cat "...where she leaps lightly and for no apparent reason across the lawn, then sits , perfectly still, in the grass. I watch her a little while, thinking: what more could I do with wild words?" Indeed, what more could anyone do? Mary Oliver writes meditations on nature and her words reach the human core.
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Summary: Oliver's poetry is an unmasking of the natural world.
Review: Mary Oliver is living proof that poetry is not something that was invented, rather something that has been present since creation, in us and in nature, waiting to be discovered. And for the last thirty years Mary Oliver has not so much written poetry, but searched for, and discovered, the poetry that has existed in the world all along. It is, of course, much more complicated than that. Oliver's poetry is crafted with delicate, precise language. She lays her words out lazily across the page, often breaking the poem into three or four beat lines, letting a metaphor string out through an entire stanza. It is her imagery, her close observance of the world, that leads to the "ideas" in her poems. There is a moment in nearly all of her poems where the speaker moves from the exterior to the interior, from the water-lily cracking open to the creases in the human heart. What makes her poetry work is that none of this seems forced. It is as if she is taking the reader by the hand and saying, "Look! The sun is rising. Watch it with me for a moment and we'll decide for ourselves why it rises. For certainly, it must have its reasons."
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Summary: Power, Elegance, and Beauty!
Review: Mary Oliver writes consistently moving, earthy poetry that reaches deep into what it means to live. I find her work magical, especially the way her writing about natural phenomena and animal relationships means so much to actual interactions with people. What's wonderful here is that Mary Oliver writes about the meta-story of human experience. Instead of delivering the poignancy of a personal story of romance, tragedy or success in the personal sphere, Oliver takes an image from nature and her experience with nature and weaves a story that has relevance for all people, no matter their cultural background. This writing could inspire the leaders of our civilization just as much as it could inspire tribal chiefs of aboriginal people. For example:Sunrise You can
die for it--
an idea,
or the world. People have done so,
brilliantly,
letting
their small bodies be bound to the stake,
creating
an unforgettable
fury of light. But this morning,
climbing the familiar hills
in the familiar
fabric of dawn, I thought of China,
and India
and Europe, and I thought
how the sun blazes
for everyone just
so joyfully
as it rises under the lashes
of my own eyes, and I thought
I am so many!
What is my name? What is the name
of the deep breath I would take
over and over
for all of us? Call it whatever you want, it is
happiness, and it is another one
of the ways to enter
fire.
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Summary: Breathtaking clarity, sanity, and tender love of this world
Review: Mary Oliver's poem "The Journey" came into my life when I was seriously ill and in desperate need of permission to rest. That poem became a talisman, a mentor, a voice ringing with sanity. I have shared it with many, many people over the last 10 years.... I've yet to encounter another poet whose voice is as pure, clear, lucid, and present. Mary's poems combine all the wonder of early childhood with the exquisite vision and discernment of someone who deeply, minutely, wildly loves Creation. Her poems are blessings, nothing less.
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Summary: Poet of the Natural World
Review: My copy is dog-eared, and I've bought copies for friends in Ireland, Germany and Ecuador, as well as at home. Oliver's poems of the natural world help us see our oneness with All That Is. I hear her poems read in my Buddhist sangha, my Catholic parrish and also at AA meetings. I'd give her six stars for this book if I could!
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Summary: I was right there in the poem!
Review: My minister chose to read from Mary Oliver one Sunday, in place of her usual sermon. She read other poetry from other poets as well, but when she read "The Sunflowers" and "Creeks" I shut my eyes and felt the words, the air, the water! I was so inspired.
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Summary: A collection of solitude and light
Review: Perhaps the greatest aspect of Oliver's poetry is her accessibility. These poems speak to the primal heart of the basic emotions, the senses, and the humanity which anyone can understand. To the average person these poems are fantastic, to those who know the joys of the forest's stillness, of morning light on mountain ridges, and of being alone in nature they are a series of intimate letters to the soul
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Summary: Mary Oliver is probably THE greatest living American poet.
Review: This anthology of many of Mary Oliver's most compelling poems will be embraced by anyone who believes that the wonders of life and of nature can be expressed in taught, gorgeous language without sentiment but with passion and love
Rating:
Summary: Poet of the Natural World
Review: This is a fantastic book of poetry. The way Ms Oliver captures nature in her words is incredible. She presents such vivid images that you feel you are there seeing what she sees. Its just terrific. Highly recommended by this reader.
Rating:
Summary: Lovely poetry
Review: This is a fantastic book of poetry. The way Ms Oliver captures nature in her words is incredible. She presents such vivid images that you feel you are there seeing what she sees. Its just terrific. Highly recommended by this reader.
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