"But what Mary really wanted to know
was how to take this place with her -
wherever she might go. This place where
she felt free. This place that sang to her like
the poems in her books.
Maybe poetry was the key."
Mary Oliver loved to spend time in the forest near her home. There she basked in the quiet wonder of it all, with pen and notebook in hand. Always wondering about nature, she was filled with questions. On a quest to take it all in and carry it with her, she turned to poetry. It was her love for words that afforded the opportunity to consider the works of Edna St. Vincent Millay; in so doing, she contacted Edna's sister and asked if she might visit their family home.
As she worked organizing the work Edna left behind, Mary continued to venture into the natural world where she was always excited about the thoughts and questions it inspired. The mysteries of this natural world were recorded in her notebooks. Reading those notes would take Mary back to the feelings that inspired her many poems. Only then did she share het gift with the world; publishing books, teaching her craft, and never missing the chance to be in nature on her daily morning walks.
"Notebook in hand, Mary set out each morning in
search of wonder. She hid pencils behind trees to she
would always be prepared.
Foxes and moon snails; black bears and owls,
snow crickets and goldfinches; sunflowers and ponds -
Mary wrote on and on."
Her poems, written over her long life, were for everyone, in hope that others would hold onto the wonder she had found in this beautiful world. That world is highlighted in wondrous digital artwork by Jasu Hu. Back matter includes an author's note, a timeline of Mary's life, a note on the craft of poetry, and a select bibliography.
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