Since then, she has published numerous books, including Blue Horses (Penguin Press, 2014) A Thousand Mornings(Penguin Press, 2012) Swan: Poems and Prose Poems (Beacon Press, 2010) Red Bird (2008) Thirst (2006) Wh y I Wake Early(2004) Owls and Other Fantasies: Poems and Essays (2003) Winter Hours: Prose, Prose Poems, and Poems (Mariner Books, 1999) West Wind (1997) White Pine (1994) New and Selected Poems (1992), which won the National Book Award House of Light(1990), which won the Christopher Award and the L. Her first collection of poems, No Voyage, and Other Poems, was published in 1963.

In the mid-1950s, Oliver attended both Ohio State University and Vassar College, though she did not receive a degree. After all, that’s how fine poetry should be read. This time while reading, I try to savor it, sip by sip, taste it in my mouth, feel the warmth of her words before swallowing them down. I pick up her book, open it, and start re-reading some of my favorite paragraphs all over again. There is my cup of coffee sitting there, still hot, inviting me to slow down, breath. Oliver’s book of essays, Upstream, is open next to my laptop on my dining table, where there are a bunch of tulips in a vase and there is a newspaper in a bundle, which I have already read and I am about to toss. It is almost like playing a good game of chess with someone, and, of course, always winning them over. Her observation of not only self but the work of poets like Whitman, Poe, and Emerson, whom she has kept close to her heart and admired forever, establishes the similarities they share when using language in an obvious way, coming from a place of assurance and complete command while communicating the message with their readers.

She then found more success by winning a Pulitzer Prize sixteen years after her first book and publishing four other editions of her poetry books.

She was only 28 years of age when her first published book of poetry reached the public. A t 82 years of age, her autobiographical writings in her new book, Upstream, are gentle but strong, poetically furnished with the kind of wisdom which only comes with age. At times, it feels a bit cold, but still, it is pleasant to come to for a visit. Mary Oliver’s essays invite me to her formal dining room.

Upstream mary oliver review