Swan: Poems and Prose Poems

By Mary Oliver

Book Overview

"Joy is not made to be a crumb," writes Mary Oliver, and certainly joy abounds in her new book of poetry and prose poems. Swan , her twentieth volume, shows us that, though we may be "made out of the dust of stars," we are of the world she captures here so vividly: the acorn that hides within it an entire tree; the wings of the swan like the stretching light of the river; the frogs singing in the shallows; the mockingbird dancing in air. Swan is Oliver's tribute to "the mortal way" of desiring and living in the world, to which the poet is renowned for having always been "totally loyal." As the Los Angeles Times noted, innumerable readers go to Oliver's poetry "for solace, regeneration and inspiration." Few poets express the immense complexities of human experience as skillfully, or capture so memorably the smallest nuances. Speaking, for example, of stones, she writes, "the little ones you can / hold in your hands, their heartbeats / so secret, so hidden it may take years / before, finally, you hear them." It is no wonder Oliver ranks, according to the Weekly Standard, "among the finest poets the English language has ever produced."

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0807068993
• ISBN13: 9780807068991
• Release Date: September 2010
• Publisher: Beacon Press
• Length: 80 Pages
• Weight: 0.69 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.6" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

Swan. This is a wonderful thought provoking collection of poems.

In “Swan” the poems are written to make you think of the things you may have enjoyed in life and to be sure to keep you thinking about and exploring life. There is a poem in the book called “Don’t Hesitate” only the most learned human such as Mary Oliver can put time and joy in context. A true life lesson explained. I’m acquiring all of her books of poetry that I can find. I’ve always been a nature lover and birder etc. I only came across Mary Oliver when I purchased “Up Stream” about 2 years ago. That was it, I read her poems everyday. Even when she describes things that make her mad or worried she does it in the most peaceful way, which really makes me contemplate every word.