Mary Oliver
author profile
born
September 10, 1935
gender
female
genre
Poetry
about this author
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
“Mary Oliver. In a region that has produced most of the nation's poet laureates, it is risky to single out one fragile 71-year-old bard of Provincetown. But Mary Oliver, who won the Pulitzer Prize in poetry in 1983, is my choice for her joyous, accessible, intimate observations of the natural world. Her Wild Geese has become so popular it now graces posters in dorm rooms across the land. But don't hold that against her. Read almost anything in New and Selected Poems. She teaches us the profound act of paying attention—a living wonder that makes it possible to appreciate all the others.”
—Ren...more
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avg rating: 4.34
| 5,073 ratings
| 658 reviews
| 33 distinct works
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40 fans
More books by Mary Oliver…
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New and Selected Poems: Volume One by Mary Oliver avg rating 4.54 — 566 ratings — published 1992 5 editions |
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American Primitive by Mary Oliver avg rating 4.39 — 375 ratings — published 1983 2 editions |
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A Poetry Handbook by Mary Oliver avg rating 3.94 — 400 ratings — published 1994 |
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Thirst: Poems by Mary Oliver avg rating 4.34 — 358 ratings — published 2006 4 editions |
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Why I Wake Early: New Poems by Mary Oliver avg rating 4.34 — 338 ratings — published 2004 3 editions |
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New and Selected Poems: Volume Two by Mary Oliver avg rating 4.60 — 277 ratings — published 1992 3 editions |
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Dream Work by Mary Oliver avg rating 4.48 — 267 ratings — published 1986 2 editions |
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House of Light by Mary Oliver avg rating 4.24 — 233 ratings — published 1992 3 editions |
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Red Bird: Poems by Mary Oliver avg rating 4.39 — 181 ratings — published 2008 3 editions |
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West Wind: Poems and Prose Poems by Mary Oliver avg rating 4.15 — 162 ratings — published 1997 2 editions |
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"Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?"
— Mary Oliver (New and Selected Poems)
with your one wild and precious life?"
— Mary Oliver (New and Selected Poems)
tags:
poetry
223 people liked it
"You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
call to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting –
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things."
— Mary Oliver
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
call to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting –
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things."
— Mary Oliver
topics mentioning this author
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Queereaders: Queer poetry | 57 | 56 | Jul 05, 2009 04:56AM | |
| Roane State Commu...: The one book I cannot live without | 23 | 80 | Sep 18, 2009 01:03PM | |
| The Seasonal Read...: Nicole's Task - Rhyme Time | 261 | 230 | 20 days ago, 05:10PM |
