Blue Iris: Poems and Essays

For poet Mary Oliver, nature is full of mystery and miracle. From the excitation of birds in the sky to the flowers and plants that are "the simple garments" of the earth, the natural world is her text of both the earth's changes and its permanence.

In Blue Iris, Mary Oliver collects ten new poems, two dozen of her poems written over the last two decades, and two previously unpublished essays on the beauty and wonder of plants. The poet considers roses, of course, as well as poppies and peonies; lilies and morning glories; the thick-bodied black oak and the fragrant white pine; the tall sunflower and the slender bean.

James Dickey has said of her, "Far beneath the surface-flash of linguistic effect, Mary Oliver works her quiet and mysterious spell. It is a true spell, unlike any other poet's, the enchantment of the true maker." In Blue Iris, she has captured with breathtaking clarity the true enchantment and mysterious spell of flowers and plants of all sorts and their magnetic hold on us.

An elegant collection of poetry and prose about flowers, trees, and plants of all sorts; a companion to Owls and Other Fantasies

Owls and Other Fantasies, Mary Oliver’s poems and essays about birds, was one of the best-selling volumes of poetry of 2003 and a Book Sense 76 selection. Blue Iris, Oliver’s new collection, is designed to be a companion to that volume. Elegantly illustrated, Blue Iris brings together ten new poems, two dozen of Mary Oliver’s favorite poems, and two previously unpublished essays. The poet considers roses, of course, and poppies and peonies; lilies and morning glories; the thick-bodied black oak and the fragrant white pine; the tall sunflower and the slender bean.

James Dickey has said of her, “Far beneath the surface-flash of linguistic effect, Mary Oliver works her quiet and mysterious spell. It is a true spell, unlike any other poet’s, the enchantment of the true maker.” In Blue Iris, she has captured with breathtaking clarity the “true enchantment” and “mysterious spell” of flowers, weeds, plants, and trees and their magnetic hold on us.

Library Journal

These 32 poems and four essays offer rich meditations on flowers in nature, showing how plant life reflects the life of the human heart. Oliver, who won the 1978 Pulitzer Prize for American Primitive, brings echoes of George Herbert to the fresh ground of American flowers, fields, and wilderness. In the poem "Just Lying on the Grass at Blackwater," we hear, "even silence can feel, to the world, like happiness,/ like praise,/ from the pool of shade you have found beneath the everlasting." Few poets can so persuasively transform Herbert's work. A companion volume to Oliver's recent Owls and Other Fantasies: Poems and Essays, this work presents poetry in free verse, which Oliver has perfected in all of its musicality and rhythm. The prose essays, though perhaps too brief, complement the poems by allowing us to see the natural world as it is intertwined with human understanding and human joy. General readers will enjoy this volume, which will also bring challenges to specialists. Highly recommended for both public and academic libraries.-Heidi Arnold, American Theological Lib. Assoc., Chicago Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Mary Oliver is one of the most celebrated and best-selling poets in America. Her books include Red Bird; Our World; Thirst; Blue Iris; New and Selected Poems, Volume One; and New and Selected Poems, Volume Two. She has also published five books of prose, including Rules for the Dance and, most recently, Long Life. She lives in Provincetown, Massachusetts.