Book Review: Devotions

Devotions: Selected Poems of May Oliver

Mary Oliver

Tags: Nature, spiritualism, transitions

Book Cover Summary: Throughout her celebrated career, Mary Oliver has touched countless readers with her brilliantly crafted verse, expounding on her love for the physical world and the powerful bonds between all living things. Identified as "far and away, this country's best selling poet" by Dwight Garner, she now returns with a stunning and definitive collection of her writing from the last fifty years.

Carefully curated, these 200 plus poems feature Oliver's work from her very first book of poetry, No Voyage and Other Poems, published in 1963 at the age of 28, through her most recent collection, Felicity, published in 2015. This timeless volume, arranged by Oliver herself, showcases the beloved poet at her edifying best. Within these pages, she provides us with an extraordinary and invaluable collection of her passionate, perceptive, and much-treasured observations of the natural world.

Reinventurer’s Book Review: If you have never read any of Mary Oliver’s poetry, what are you waiting for?  Her work is ineffable. Every poem is about nature—human, flora, and fauna. She does things with words that are inimitable—impossible to replicate.  And just when you think you know where these beautiful words are leading you, surprise, she makes a turn that is even better than what you had in mind. 

This is a must read for anyone who loves life and nature.  Truly, you don’t have to like poetry.  Mary will easily take you under her wing and guide you through the world with words that flow like a gentle, trickling, creek from which you will never want to remove your bare feet.     

Questions to Ponder and Discuss:

How would you describe Mary Oliver’s poetry?

What was your favorite poem, and why?

What do you think makes Oliver’s poetry so beloved?