Winner of a 1991 Christopher Award
Winner of the 1991 Boston Globe Lawrence L. Winship Book Award
This collection of poems by ... read full description
Winner of the 1991 Boston Globe Lawrence L. Winship Book Award
This collection of poems by ... read full description
reviews
Dec 26, 2007
Jessica
rated it: 
Lilies
I have been thinking
about living
like the lilies
that blow in the fields.
They rise and fall in the wedge of the wind,
and have no shelter
from the tongues of the cattle,
and have no closets or cupboards,
amd have no legs.
Still I would like to be
as wonderful
as that old idea.
But if I were a lily
I think I would wait all day
for the green face
of the hummingbird
More...
I have been thinking
about living
like the lilies
that blow in the fields.
They rise and fall in the wedge of the wind,
and have no shelter
from the tongues of the cattle,
and have no closets or cupboards,
amd have no legs.
Still I would like to be
as wonderful
as that old idea.
But if I were a lily
I think I would wait all day
for the green face
of the hummingbird
More...
Sep 20, 2009
Lis
rated it: 
I love Mary Oliver in general, so I've slowly been collecting her individual volumes of poetry in addition to the Selected Poems I had first. This is often a good strategy, as it's likely that some of the poems that didn't make it into the selected works will be worth reading anyway.
<House of Light>, I'm afraid, isn't really worth that effort. There are some excellent poems here, like "Some Questions You Might Ask," "Little Owl Who Lives in the Orchard," a More...
<House of Light>, I'm afraid, isn't really worth that effort. There are some excellent poems here, like "Some Questions You Might Ask," "Little Owl Who Lives in the Orchard," a More...
Apr 18, 2011
Nancy
rated it: 
I love this collection of poetry from the first page with the poem “Some Questions You Might Ask” that begins with “Is the soul solid, like iron? / Or is it tender and breakable, like / the wings of a moth in the beak of the owl? . . . “ to the last poem in the book—“White Owl Flies Into and Out of the Field” beginning with “Coming down / out of the freezing sky / with its depths of light, / like an angel, / or a Buddha with wings, . . . “ Oliver blends philosophical thought with the natural wor
More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Apr 30, 2009
Laura
rated it:
Most of the poems in this book are just magical. Maybe because I first heard them on a backpacking trip to the Grand Canyon, maybe because I can remember lines from some of my favorite poems, maybe because this was the first time I ever heard of who Mary Oliver was - but I fell in love and have remained faithful over the years. Her ability to write about the world of nature and the nature of ourselves is remarkable. I love this book.
Aug 08, 2009
Brenda
rated it:
House of Light is a lovely collection of Mary Oliver poems. Favorites of mine in this collection are The Oak Tree at the Entrance to Blackwater Pond, Looking for Snakes, and The Summer Day. Oliver uses simple language to describe the natural world, and from that exploration she contemplates the universal themes of love, life, death and the soul.
Jul 27, 2011
Grete
rated it:
Evocative, thoughtful poems. One can tire a bit of the same images used over and over, but taken individually each poem is lovely. "Maybe" is my favorite.
Sep 17, 2009
Sunni
rated it:
One of my two favorite Mary Oliver books. She's at her best in the beginning and everything resonates.
Mar 30, 2009
Anne
rated it:
A beautiful book of poems and meditations on nature by the seashore and emotional connections.
Nov 19, 2008
Anna
rated it:
"The Summer Day" first captured my attention in the "Americans' Favorite Poems" collection Jesse gave me a few years back. I was particularly captured by the closing lines, "Tell me, what is it you plan to do / with your one wild and precious life?" This is one of the few collections by a single poet I've bought and read through start to finish, and I love it.
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Aug 30, 2007
Maggie
rated it:
Mary Oliver has a gift with words...her connection with nature reminds of all the abstract truths that exist in the world around us. The Summer Day- one of my favorite poems, has always hit me hard. The last stanza you can find on my fifth grade classroom door-
"Tell me what do you plan to do-with your one wild and precious life."
"Tell me what do you plan to do-with your one wild and precious life."
Mar 05, 2008
beauregard
rated it: 
Feels like I'm at some fancy New England writer's home. Introspective, philosophical, pretty pretty turtles and foxes and herons. And then I got bored.
Is the soul solid, like iron
Or is it tender and breakable, like
The wings of a moth in the beak of an owl?
-from the poem 'Some Questions You Might Ask'
Is the soul solid, like iron
Or is it tender and breakable, like
The wings of a moth in the beak of an owl?
-from the poem 'Some Questions You Might Ask'
May 26, 2008
This book took a while for me to get in to it. Only on my 3 reading of it did I really start to appreciate it. To the light house follows one family though the course of 10 years, charting their down fall, and drifting apart after their matriarch dies.
Mar 22, 2008
Meri
rated it:
I arrived very late to the Mary Oliver party, but I really love her work now that I'm familiar with it! What an open, honest poet! What respect for nature and life's processes and writing! I love her words.
May 13, 2008
Cynthia
rated it:
Mary Oliver is an artist. No wonder Mark Doty's dog spotted her on a beach and pulled her down to wrestle with him on the sand, by the hood of her sweatshirt. I wish I could thank her personally for each poem.
Jan 31, 2008
Kirsten
rated it:
I love Mary Oliver, and this book contains many luminous poems that take nature as their starting point, but move on to something deeper than simply describing the beauty of the natural world.
May 26, 2008
Rae
rated it:
I especially liked "White Owl Flies Into and Out of the Field" and her motifs of light and fire. Each of her works contains a message on humanity and nature. A favorite poet.
Aug 11, 2009
Casey
rated it:
I love Mary Oliver. Can't say it simpler. I read these poems and I think birds are the most beautiful creatures, and I think Heaven is born out of the swaying trees rooted by rivers.
Mar 14, 2008
Janie
rated it:
Bright, uncluttered poems. Best read after a long run and a shower, when the mind and body are drained of worries, ready to take a beachside stroll with the author.
Mar 29, 2008
Susan
rated it:
Wow. These are some fantastic, inspiring poems for either a beautiful day or a very dark one. They are poems of true gratitude.
Feb 20, 2009
Marion
rated it:
I love Mary Oliver. Her poetry is so very subtle, rich, and beautiful. I am enjoying reading her poetry collections.
Aug 01, 2008
Gwen
rated it:
Mary Oliver is my favorite poet. She writes of the essenses of life, spirit, nature, struggle, and death.
Dec 15, 2007
Katie
rated it:
Simple truths and quiet reverence of nature. Read it when you're in a fairly patient and still state of mind.
Sep 27, 2007
Robert
rated it:
Click here: [http://www.robertpeake.com/archives/190-Mary-Oliver-White-Owl-Flies-Into-And-Out-Of-The-Field.html]
Aug 02, 2008
Cindy
rated it:
Mary Oliver is one of my favorite poets ever, ever, ever. Her words center and enlighten me.
Jan 14, 2008
Babak
rated it:
this book combined with Barbara Bosworth made me fall in love with landscape photography
Jan 09, 2008
Nature is beautiful and we can find out about ourselves and God by observing nature.
Dec 16, 2009
Willow
rated it:
Nature poems. I love nature and everything but her style isn't my favorite.
Dec 16, 2009
Sam
rated it:
I almost feel like she wrote the whole book in one sitting (in a good way).
Dec 16, 2009
Tracy
rated it:
I especially love the one about geese. Great poetry about appreciating nature.
