Thirst: Poems [Paperback]

Thirst, a collection of fortythree new poems from Pulitzer Prizewinner Mary Oliver, introduces two new directions in the poet's work. Grappling with grief at the death of her beloved partner of over forty years, she strives to experience sorrow as a path to spiritual progress, grief as part of loving and not its end. And within these pages she chronicles for the frst time her discovery of faith, without abandoning the love of the physical world that has been a hallmark of her work for four decades.To readThirst, is to feel gratititude for the simple fact of being alive. This is not surprising, as it is the effect [Oliver's] best work has produced in readers for the past 43 years. —Angela O'Donnell,America Magazine

Mary Oliver moves by instinct, faith, and determination. She is among our finest poets, and still growing. —Alicia Ostriker,The Nation

It has always seemed, across her [many] books of poetry, . . . that Mary Oliver might leave us at any minute. Even a 1984 Pulitzer Prize couldn't pin her to the ground. She'd change quietly into a heron or a bear and fly or walk on forever. —Susan Salter Reynolds,Los Angeles Times

Mary Oliver. In a region that has produced most of the nation's poet laureates, it is risky to single out one fragile 71-year-old bard of Provincetown. But Mary Oliver, who won the Pulitzer Prize in poetry in 1983, is my choice for her joyous, accessible, intimate observations of the natural world. HerWild Geesehas become so popular it now graces posters in dorm rooms across the land. But don't hold that against her. Read almost anything inNew and Selected Poems. She teaches us the profound act of paying attention—a living wonder that makes it possible to appreciate all the others. —Renée Loth,Boston GlobeA private person by nature,Mary Oliver(1935–2019) gave very few interviews over the years. Instead, she preferred to let helC3