Friday, May 30, 2008
Mary Oliver reading "When Death Comes"
Here is Mary Oliver reading her beautiful poem "When Death Comes." It is taken from the following source:
"And if you're interested in the CD, it is At Blackwater Pond -- Mary Oliver reads Mary Oliver, published by Beacon Press (0-8070-0700- 5)"
In my view, Mary Oliver is one of the leading nature poets of all time--that is to say, she is a great poet who is in love with nature. She is a true mystic, one who probes the dark mysteries of the natural world and captures their essence in exquisite language. As such a poet, she had gone against the grain of much contemporary writing, which often focuses on the agony of personal issues, political concerns, or highly subjective explorations of minutiae. She reminds us of who we are, participants of a great scheme which includes infinitely more than our small selves, but she does not preach or philosophize so much as observe and record.
Above all, she dares to view the world from a perspective which includes delight, joy, and--yes--love for what surrounds her. Thus she restores the balance at a time when despair often seems the only allowable response to the human situation.
And--in the above poem--she turns to a new theme, looking her own mortality square in the eye, with bravery, honesty, and--above all--gifted language.
Here is a list of her many works (from Wikipedia):
The author of more than a dozen books of poetry and prose, Oliver’s first collection of poems, Voyage, and Other Poems, was published in 1963. She has since published numerous books, including Thirst (Beacon Press, 2006); Why I Wake Early (2004); Owls and Other Fantasies: Poems and Essays (2003); Winter Hours: Prose, Prose Poems, and Poems (1999); West Wind (1997); White Pine (1994). In 1992, her volume, New and Selected Poems (1992), won the National Book award. She won the Christopher Award and the L. L. Winship/PEN New England Award for her piece House of Light (1990). Her volume American Primitive (1983) was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1984. The first and second parts of her The Leaf and the Cloud were selected for inclusion in The Best American Poetry 1999 and The Best American Poetry 2000, respectively.
(image from Poets.org)
