Remembering Mary Oliver (1935-2019)
We are so sad that a great friend of ours has passed away. Beloved poet Mary Oliver passed away today at her home in Florida at the age of 83 after battling lymphoma.
Best-selling poet Mary Oliver (books by this author) was born in Maple Heights, Ohio (1935). As a child, she spent most of her time outside, wandering around the woods, reading and writing poems.
Oliver went to college in the ’50s at Ohio State University and Vassar, but dropped out. She made a pilgrimage to visit Edna St. Vincent Millay’s 800-acre estate in Austerlitz, New York. The poet had been dead for several years, but Millay’s sister Norma lived there along with her husband. Mary Oliver and Norma hit it off, and Oliver lived there for years, helping out on the estate, keeping Norma company, and working on her own writing. In 1958, a woman named Molly Malone Cook came to visit Norma while Oliver was there, and the two fell in love. A few years later, they moved together to Provincetown, Massachusetts.
Oliver said: “I was very careful never to take an interesting job. Not an interesting one. I took lots of jobs. But if you have an interesting job you get interested in it. I also began in those years to keep early hours. [...] If anybody has a job and starts at 9, there’s no reason why they can’t get up at 4:30 or 5 and write for a couple of hours, and give their employers their second-best effort of the day — which is what I did.”
She published five books of poetry, and still almost no one had heard of her. She doesn’t remember ever having given a reading before 1984, which is the year that she was doing dishes one evening when the phone rang and it was someone calling to tell her that her most recent book, American Primitive (1983), had won the Pulitzer Prize. Suddenly, she was famous. She didn’t really like the fame — she didn’t give many interviews, didn’t want to be in the news. She once wrote in an introduction to a poetry collection, “I have felt all my life that I was wise, and tasteful, too, to speak very little about myself — to deflect the curiosity in the personal self that descends upon writers, especially in this country and at this time, from both casual and avid readers.”
When editors called their house for Oliver, Cook would answer, announce that she was going to get Oliver, fake footsteps, and then get back on the phone and pretend to be the poet — all so that Oliver didn’t have to talk on the phone to strangers, something she did not enjoy. Cook was a photographer, and she was also Oliver’s literary agent. They stayed together for more than 40 years, until Cook’s death in 2005.
Oliver said: “I’ve always wanted to write poems and nothing else. There were times over the years when life was not easy, but if you’re working a few hours a day and you’ve got a good book to read, and you can go outside to the beach and dig for clams, you’re okay.”
Oliver’s books of poems include No Voyage (1963), The River Styx, Ohio, and Other Poems (1972), Twelve Moons (1978), The Leaf and the Cloud (2000), Owls and Other Fantasies (2003), Red Bird (2008), Dog Songs (2013), and Velocity (2015). Her most recent collection, Devotions, was released in Oct 2017.
Listen to poems from our archives >>>
More poems from the archives >>>
Read our poet interview >>>
Read NPR's obituary >>>
💔 Romance Scam Testimony: I Lost $275,000
I never imagined I’d fall for a scam — but I did. I met someone online who seemed caring and genuine. We spoke every day, built what felt like a real connection, and talked about a future together. Then came the “investment opportunities.” He promised big returns through crypto, showed fake profits, and convinced me it was all for our future. I started small, then gave more — draining my retirement, savings, and even borrowing from friends. In total, I lost $275,000. The financial loss was devastating. The emotional betrayal? Even worse. I felt ashamed and completely alone. But I want you to know: you are not alone. Romance scammers are skilled manipulators. If this happened to you, it’s not your fault. I had to confide in a close friend of mine who then introduced me to this crypto recovery team with the best recovery jetwebhackers i contacted them and they were able to completely recover my stolen digital assets with ease. Their service was superb, and my problems were solved in swift action, It only took them 48 hours to investigate and track down those scammers and my funds were returned to me. I strongly recommend this team to anyone going through a similar situation with their investment or fund theft to look up this team for the best appropriate solution to avoid losing huge funds to these scammers…
WEBSITE: jetwebhackers . com
EMAIL: jetwebhackers @ gmail . com
TELEGRAM: @jetwebhackers
WHATSAPP: +1 (505) 428-8792
Am testifying of the miraculous work of a great herbalist doctor called Dr Moses Buba I have been suffering from herpes outbreak since last 2 years with my Husband but today I am happy that am cured from it with the herbal medicine made by Dr Moses Buba the great healer, I was browsing the Internet searching for help when I came across a testimony shared by someone on how Dr Moses Buba cured her from Herpes Disease. I quickly contacted him to get the cure and today I am now free from the Virus, Email him now for help. buba.herbalmiraclemedicine@gmail.com , you can also visit his Facebook website https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61559577240930
I’ve been attempting to expand my wine business in my hometown in White Plains. For the past 7 years, I do play the lottery in my spare time but on this blessed day I came across an article about Lord Meduza’s spell to win the lottery. I contacted Lord Meduza to see if it would work and after I agreed to his terms and conditions for completing the task for me, he performed his magical powers for me and within 48 hours, he provided me with the numbers I needed to play the lottery, and I followed his directions. I found out at the store that I was the winner of a $105 million jackpot. For a moment I felt uncertain but I looked again and I saw it was real. As I speak to you, My level has been elevated from grass to grace and I’ve come to know that life is more spiritual and with the Lord Meduza spell, you can actually win the lottery.. Please assist me in thanking him and his contacts are listed as follows;
WhatsApp: +1 (807) 907-2687
Email: lordmeduzatemple@hotmail.com
i already had two kids for my husband and he wanted to leave me because he was seeing another woman and i was on a facebook page and i saw a comment about dr ose how he helped a lady to save her marriage and i gave it a try i can proudly say am happy in my marriage now oseremenspelltemple@gmail.com WhatsApp +2348136482342
Hello to everyone around the globe. I’m Jefferey Vargas from Malta. My girlfriend ended our relationship for seemingly no reason and I came to understand that my financial struggles may have contributed to this, as a healthy relationship is difficult without money and aside from God, having more money is often seen as vital. For spellcasting, Lord Meduza is the right person to turn to. My girlfriend left me for another man due to my financial situation, but after connecting with Lord Meduza, he created a spell that not only brought my girlfriend back but also made me a lottery winner of €116 million by providing me with the 6 lucky numbers. Everything feels almost unreal but I assure you this is genuine and it’s occurring. My life is incredibly beautiful and I owe my deepest appreciation to Lord Meduza. I strongly encourage everyone here to reach him for help via email: lordmeduzatemple@hotmail.com OR you WhatsApp this number: +1 (807) 907-2687. As his efforts are the epitome of excellence.