Author: Mary Oliver

If you’ve ever ventured into one of Mary Oliver’s poems, you are immediately pulled beneath the surface of the words into an entirely different world. It’s a world in which you notice the intricacy of everything around you, reuniting once again with a forgotten friend that you can’t quite name, but know.

Her poems aren’t something you merely skim through (no poetry should be read that way), but savor.

This book is a detour away from her poetry into a collection of essays, chronicling the incredible level of detail she pays attention to in the gamut of daily life. Seriously–there was an entire section on a spider spinning its web near the stairwell of a house she was renting.

It was beautifully told and caused you to wonder about the miracles happening around you that only require some attention to see. Made me realize if I made the same attempt at such an endeavour, the reader would be treated to the enthralling noises my cereal makes as it pours into a bowl.

A wonderful collection of essays that give a glimpse behind the giant of poetry our world had the pleasure of knowing.