Upstream, selected essays --by Mary Oliver

Nonfiction / essays

187 pages / 1778 KB

5 Stars

I am so sorry I never had the opportunity to meet Ms. Oliver, and so delighted to live in an age of books, where I can have her at my beck and call.

She has long been one of my favorite poets, and now she is also one of my favorite essayists. These essays, like her poems, are of everyday observations – the gull she rescued, the turtle she watched who laid her eggs, the dog who climbed fences and the dog catcher who brought him home. She saw beauty in everythin, and shared it with us.

The news is filled with Covid 19 as it rages around our planet, this book is filled with beauty and peace. It is a perfect antidote to our situation today.

Other books I've read and reviewed by Mary Oliver

Felicity http://lenoragood.blogspot.com/2020/01/felicity-by-mary-oliver.html

A Poetry Handbook http://lenoragood.blogspot.com/2019/01/a-poetry-handbook-by-mary-oliver.html

New and Selected Poems http://lenoragood.blogspot.com/2017/11/new-and-selected-poems-by-mary-oliver.html

Owls and Other Fantasies: Poems and Essays http://lenoragood.blogspot.com/2020/01/owls-and-other-fantasies-poems-and.html

Felicity --by Mary Oliver

Poetry

96 pages

5 Stars

Mary Oliver's poetry always makes me feel more alive, more in turn with my world and all in it. Many of her poems in this little treasure, reminded me of certain friends. 

Do I have a favorite? Maybe. Possibly, I Have Just Said. But the next time I read it, who knows? We always bring our own stories to a book, whether of prose or poetry, and Ms. Oliver brings out the best of our stories. I miss her.

A poetry Handbook --by Mary Oliver

Nonfiction / a prose guide to understanding and writing poetry

130 pages

5 Stars

I love Mary Oliver's poetry, so when I came across this book, I couldn't wait to read it. I frequently found myself having to go back and re-read a passage—not, I hasten to add, because it was not crystal clear the first time, but because I would get a few paragraphs on and suddenly realize she meant THAT instead of THIS and I'd go back and re-read just to be sure.

I would love to have taken a class from Ms. Oliver. Since that can never be, this book is as close as I'll ever get. If she was as approachable as her book, it would have been marvelous. 

If you are a poet or an aspiring poet, I highly recommend this book. It will give you much information without intimidating you. In fact, I think you'll find yourself reading it for the sheer pleasure of reading it, not because of a feeling of 'should read' but 'want to' read.

New and Selected Poems --by Mary Oliver

Nonfiction / Poetry

255 pages

5 Stars

I received this book as a gift, and what a treasured gift it is. Ms. Oliver talks about all subjects in her book—life, death, nature--how they are all part of the web of life. I love her poem, White Owl Flies Into and Out of the Field. How the beautiful owl drops down out of the freezing sky to find and grab dinner scurrying under the snow. Her words, "maybe death / isn't darkness, after all / but so much light / wrapping itself around us— / as soft as feathers—" brought me to a stop. Yes, that is Death.

I tend to read fast, and know I read this book too fast, too quickly, but I did force myself to take breaks, and often, she forced my breaks with poetry like the above. I had to stop. To think on it.

In looking through the book, I have notes scribbled here and there (a sure sign I love the book, by the way). Oliver's poetry is accessible to, I think, anyone who cares to pick it up and give it a try. One does not need to be a poet, or a reader of poetry, to read her book and fall in love.