House of Light

by Mary Oliver

Book Overview

This collection of poems by Mary Oliver once again invites the reader to step across the threshold of ordinary life into a world of natural and spiritual luminosity.

Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?
--Mary Oliver, "The Summer Day" (one of the poems in this volume)

Winner of a 1991 Christopher Award

Winner of the 1991 Boston Globe Lawrence...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 080706811X
• ISBN13: 9780807068113
• Release Date: April 1992
• Publisher: Beacon Press
• Length: 96 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

White Owl

The first Mary Oliver poem I ever read was stapled to a gift basket I received from my company. The occasion was the death of my mother. I read the poem over and over, transfixed, unable to picture anything but the ending image of the transcendent light washing us from our bones. This poem went straight to my core and has never left, 3 years later. She was cremated, delivered to the light, and somehow it was right and fitting that this poem become my sole and proprietary piece of connection. Her works are soaring and filled with buoyancy. Her vision and quiet observation of the world has captured me gently, gently.

Uplifting and enchanting!

Mary Oliver's poems continue to make us aware of everything that goes on around us and inside our minds. My favorites are: "The Kookaburras", "The Buddha's Last Instruction" and "The Hermit Crab". This is an uplifting and enchanting book! Joyce Akesson, author of Love's Thrilling Dimensions and The Invitation

Uplifting and enchanting!

Mary Oliver's poems continue to make us aware of everything that goes on around us and inside our minds. My favorites are: "The Kookaburras", "The Buddha's Last Instruction" and "The Hermit Crab". This is an uplifting and enchanting book! Joyce Akesson, author of Love's Thrilling Dimensions

"Wake up!" is the tender, fierce cry of this book...

I've read just about everything that Mary Oliver has written...and something about "House of Light" makes me sit up and LISTEN to the natural world. These poems -- I think especially of "The Kookaburras" -- invite us to become more accountable for every thought, action, and gesture. Mary's poems break my heart open again and again; they're soul-food for me; they remind me of what is essential. Mary is a compassionate witness for the exquisite minutae of life.

Illuminating!! Oliver is brilliant...

After reading "House of Light" by Mary Oliver (the book was a gift for my sixteenth birthday a few years back) I began to write. It is inspirational ! Oliver captures the essence of each animal, plant, and situation. My personal favorites are: "The Buddha's Last Instruction" and "The Hermit Crab" The book is refreshing and a must have for poetry lovers!