THE PROFOUND and ILLUMINATING POETRY of MARY OLIVER
An introduction to one of my favorite poets of all time and her luminous poetry
THE DAWNING LIGHT—-Daily Journal of Transformational Writing
Volume 8, Issue # 864 for Tuesday, April 2, 2024
REVELATIONS and Pearls of Wisdom Section # 59 Lightning Bolts of Positive and Inspiring Wisdom written or selected by Chinmayan
Upper Image courtesy of Pixabay Lower Image: Mary Oliver circa 1969
Dear Friends,
If you do not know about Mary Oliver yet, then it is my real pleasure to introduce her to you for many reasons.
As a life long poet myself who has always been searching for those rare souls whose work is suffused with profound and uplifting spiritual dimensions of meaning, and been severely disappointed by most poets, including the famous and revered ones, Mary Oliver stands far above them all.
Her last book of poetry, “Devotions: The Selected Poems of Mary Oliver”, published just two years before her departure from this world in 2019, is by far the most appreciated and revered poetry book in my library, and is the only poetry collection on the shelf of my most treasured books.
She was a very special person who was totally dedicated to crafting the very best works of her heart which gave voice to her sweet soul, her love of nature, her own humble way of life and her inner connection with the divine.
When we read her work, we discover a voice which whispers and sings in a way which opens our hearts, enlarges our vision and deepens our understanding of the important things in life. Every poem is an adventure into the light of the soul— sometimes playful, always enlightening.
If you love the poems I am sharing here, I highly recommend that you go to a real bookstore and buy yourself a copy of “Devotions” in hardcover. It will one of the best gifts you have ever given yourself that you will treasure.
The cover of my well used, carried everywhere with me copy of “Devotions”
Here are excerpts from a recent post by Clay Smith:
Bill and Amalie Reichblum, who were close friends with Oliver and her partner Molly Malone Cook, told me recently that Oliver’s poetry—hopeful, open, generous and inviting—is exactly like Oliver herself was.
“Mary was the rare artist who was exactly the same in her work and in her life,” Bill says. “You couldn’t but help fall in love with the poetry and fall in love with the poet.”
The Reichblums say that Oliver and Cook never forgot what their life together was like—the toughness and tenacity an artistic life demands—before Oliver became famous for her poetry. In fact, up until a few months before Oliver received the National Book Award, she and Cook would find dinner in dumpsters behind restaurants. “There is something about artists who remember what it was like to struggle,” Bill says.
“Mary was incredibly kind and generous,” Amalie says. “She was laser focused on her work and other things didn’t matter—possessions, money—but she was always incredibly generous if she felt like an emerging poet who had asked her for advice were a good person, she would help them.”
Mary Oliver in 2017 Jacket Photo for “Devotions”
From Wikipedia:
Mary Oliver (1935-2019) was the recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for “American Primitive” in 1984 and of the National Book Award for “New and Selected Poems” in 1992. She began writing poetry as a teenager and published her first book of poems, “No Voyage, and Other Poems,” when she was 28. It was followed by a succession of bestselling poetry and essay collections published across her lifetime and beloved by an international readership. Oliver was committed to environmental sustainability. She found inspiration for her work and her spirituality in the poetry and meditations upon nature of Emerson, Whitman, Shelley, Keats, Millay and Rumi, and through her frequent forays into woodlands and along the seashore of Cape Cod.
“THE WORLD I LIVE IN” A Small Selection Of Poetry From “Devotions”
Image courtesy of Pixabay
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So grateful to find Mary Elliot here this morning - and glad you also know her work