Swan: Poems and Prose Poems [Paperback]

“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.Swanis 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.”

Praise for Mary Oliver

She is, far and away, this country's best selling poet. —Dwight Garner,New York Times Book Review

You can pick up pretty much any Mary Oliver collection and be thrilled, but Swan...is so piercing and penetrating that form seems to fall away, an unnecessary stage for the rocket. —Brian Doyle,Christian Century

Oliver reminds us of the mystery and necessity of poetry, whose source is, ultimately, the Creator. —Angela O'Donnell,America

“One of the astonishing aspects of Oliver’s work is the consistency of tone over this long period [of her career]. What changes is an increased focus on nature and an increased precision with language that has made her one of our very best poets. . . . Although few poets have fewer human beings in their poems than Mary Oliver, it is ironic that few poets also go so far to help us forward.”—Stephen Dobyns, New York Times Book Review 
 
“Mary Oliver’s poetry is fine and deep; it reads like a blessing. Her special gift is to connect us with our sources in the natural world, its beauties and terrors and mysteries and consolations.”—Stanley Kunitz  
 
“Mary Oliver’s poems are natural growths out of a loam of perception and feeling, and instinctive skill with language makes them seem effortless. Reading them is a sensual delight.”—May Swenslc2