Blue Pastures

With consummate craftsmanship, Mary Oliver has fashioned fifteen luminous prose pieces: on nature, writing, and herself and those around her. She praises Whitman, denounces cuteness, notes where to find the extraordinary, and extols solitude.

In these beloved essays, she invites readers into a world both sacred and intricate, where the keenest observations reveal a deeper way of living.

Nature Writing: From the glassy gaze of a great horned owl to the surprising life found in a bluefish’s belly, Oliver’s eye misses nothing in the wild landscapes of Cape Cod. The Creative Process: Discover the fierce discipline and necessary solitude behind a poet’s craft, where wrestling with the angel means letting the mustard run out. Literary Companions: Walk with her friend Walt Whitman through the woods and learn how the voice of another poet can become a constant, powerful, and amazing guide. A Philosophy of Attention: A powerful argument against seeing the world as “cute,” finding instead a reverent connection to every living thing in all its terror and beauty.