Mary Oliver was a beloved modern poet best known for her meditative explorations in nature and her tender and accessible ways of sharing human experience. Her quiet and meditative work takes the reader into the simple daily wonders of nature in a way that blooms into a resonant and spiritual tenor with an emotional depth that is humble, curious, and self-aware about our inherent limitations as human beings.

 

I chose her collected work Devotions as our N&B Book Club read over the end-of-year holidays, as it is a deeply meditative collection of poems, aptly titled and a perfect read for the reflective end of one year and an intentional entrance into a new one. Honestly it's a perfect read for a summer holiday too, and I think no matter when you read it, you'll find that even just perusing her moving poems inspires you to connect more often and more intentionally with the natural world.

 

What I love about Mary Oliver's work includes her vivid imagery that immerses the reader in specific moments, places, and experiences. I love the way she provides a kind of guide to the natural world; her way of reminding the reader by example to slow down and notice; and her devoted effort to "understand the wonder and pain of nature." I appreciate the way her poetry could reach large audiences through her accessible style and plain language too. As a graduate of an MFA program in poetry myself, I know a whole world of nuances and specifics that a person studying a craft gets to know, but those same nuances can alienate some readers who feel like they "don't get poetry," and so I appreciate Mary Oliver's way of welcoming all readers in. 

 

 

Summed up into only three words, I'd describe Mary Oliver's work, and the poems within Devotions, as: MEDITATIVE, PONDERING, and SPIRITUAL. She is a poet of place, bringing you somewhere with her that you can see and hear and smell. She writes about ordinary but also incredible things — a grasshopper, a swan, the seasons, our place in all of it — that are deep, trippy, and best told openly, simply, and honestly. The title Devotions and the image on the cover of two hands, one holding a perched bird and the other offering it a spoonful of something sweet, say so much about the delicate, devoted study of and interaction with nature that Mary Oliver offers and inspires in her readers.

 

A few of my favorite poems from this collection are:

• "How I Go To The Woods" (p. 64)
• "Morning at Blackwater" (p. 166)
• "The Summer Day" (p. 316)
• "The Journey" (p.349)
• "In Blackwater Woods" (p. 389)

 

When you join Book Club, you can access the recorded live discussion about this book as well as other recorded discussions for I've recommended for Book Club along the way. Sign in, sit back, and enjoy a nourishing chat to enrich your mind and creativity!

 

Keep blooming,

 

 

 

PS — Pease support your local bookshops, or check out bookshops.org or indiebound.com to search for your local independent book stores. If you're in San Diego, I love Book Catapult right here in South Park, San Diego, and they offer online orders too! You can also get the audiobook on Audible or rent it for free on the library app Libby.