Blue Pastures
Back of the Book
Throughout her celebrated career, Mary Oliver has touched countless readers with her brilliantly crafted verse, expounding on her love for the physical world and the powerful bonds between all living things. Identified as far and away, this country's best selling poet by Dwight Garner, she now returns with a stunning and definitive collection of her writing from the last fifty years.
Carefully curated, these 200 plus poems feature Oliver's work from her very first book of poetry, No Voyage and Other Poems, published in 1963 at the age of 28, through her most recent collection, Felicity, published in 2015. This timeless volume, arranged by Oliver herself, showcases the beloved poet at her edifying best. Within these pages, she provides us with an extraordinary and invaluable collection of her passionate, perceptive, and much-treasured observations of the natural world.
We Love It Because
Mary Oliver’s quiet tenderness has made her a literary star, the likes of which remain few and far between. In this curated collection we are able to witness the small beginnings of Oliver’s grand legacy. Oliver’s conception of the world is entirely the product of a unique and human talent, and is able to hold the truth of the world in it somehow.
Memorable Passage
And now my old dog is dead, and another I had after him, and my parents are dead, and that first world, that old house, is sold and lost, and the books I gathered there lost, or sold- but more books bought, and in another place, board by board and stone by stone, like a house, a true life built, and all because I was steadfast about one or two things: loving foxes, and poems, the blank piece of paper, and my own energy- and mostly the shimmering shoulders of the world that shrug carelessly over the fate of any individual that they may, the better, keep the Niles and Amazons flowing.
About the Author
Mary Oliver (1935–2019) was an esteemed American poet whose profound connection to nature and keen observations of the human experience made her one of the most beloved and widely read poets of her time. Born in Ohio, Oliver's poetry often celebrated the beauty of the natural world while delving into the deeper mysteries of life. Her collection American Primitive earned her the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1984, and subsequent works like New and Selected Poems further solidified her reputation as a poetic force. Known for her accessible yet deeply resonant verse, Oliver's words have a timeless quality that speaks to the universal aspects of existence. She received numerous accolades and honors during her lifetime, and her work continues to inspire readers to find solace and connection in the simplicity and complexity of the world around them. Mary Oliver is worth knowing for her ability to infuse poetry with a sense of wonder, reverence for nature, and an enduring invitation to explore the landscapes of both the external and internal realms.
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