Customer Reviews

At Blackwater Pond: Mary Oliver reads Mary Oliver

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As an annual visitor to Provincetown, where Mary Oliver resides, I first discovered her poetry in a local bookstore. While standing in it's cramped quarters, I was riveted by her matter of fact, yet stirring observations of life and nature. As listened, I imagine hers as the life I would love to live. I walk and observe through her eyes and ears and my life is much richer for having done so. Once back into my routine of commuting to work in New York City, I have recorded Mary's first CD onto my iPod. I can only attempt to express my joy-- at stepping upon the concrete sidewalks amidst crowds of busy people and rows of cars, trucks and taxis-- to hear Mary's quiet voice describing a Kingfisher. When I travel, when I'm weary and put-upon, when I'm just so pummelled by the obligations of work and routine, I select "At Blackwater Pond" and immediately calm and delight my soul.
I cannot thank Mary Oliver enough.

I love to read Mary Oliver's work, discovering one poem at a time and having my perspective altered by her masterful description of familiar, yet mysterious creatures and places. When this first recording became available, I had no idea how melodic, reverent, and strong Mary Oliver's voice would be as she reads her own words. This CD is becoming a favorite gift to give. Everyone who has received it has loved her imagery and has been fed by it.

Poems are, as my English teacher once told me, meant to be read aloud. I never feel as if I know a poem, as if it has been allowed to reach the deepest parts of my soul, until I have either read it out loud myself or heard it read. Mary Oliver is my favorite modern poet, bar none. I was so thrilled to find this CD (apart from the fact that I could not find anything anywhere to tell me what poems were on it before I bought it).

I love it. To be honest, Ms. Oliver's voice took, for me, a little getting used to. There is nothing wrong with it, just not quite what I was expecting. Once I adjusted to it, I found myself enjoying her readings very much. What I find a little irritating (hence the four instead of five star rating) is the fair audio quality. Occasionally, you can hear pages turning and little throat sounds that, while human, ought not to be on a CD of this day and age. Still, I would suggest getting this with all my heart; hearing the poems, for me, added another dimenison to Ms. Oliver's incredible work. Since I found it fustrating that I couldn't find a list of tracks, I assume others will. So, here are the poems you will find on this CD:

Some Herons
Wild Geese
Beans
The Swan
Bone
Hermit Crab
Goldenrod
I Looked Up
The Buddha's Last Instruction
The Kingfisher
Bear
Some Things, Say the Wise Ones
Her Grave
Mindful
Lonely, White Fields
Where Does the Temple Begin
Goldfinches
Song of the Builders
Peonies
Five A.M. in the Pinewoods
The Summer Day
The Sun
The Snow Cricket
Whelks
Hum
White Flowers
Rice
Little Owl Who Lives in the Orchard
Maybe
When Death Comes
Lingering in Happiness
The Ponds
Roses, Late Summer
The Notebook
Daisies
The Lily
Kookaburras
Marengo
White Owl Flies Into and Out of the Field
At Blackwater Pond

A wonderful collection from a wonderful career - and hopefully there are many more collections to come.
Sound quality is generally extremely good, 'though one or two tracks seem to be down on level, but hearing the poet read her own work gives the listener/reader that added benefit.
Essential listening.

This is an excellent CD. Mary Oliver's reading voice is very interesting and adds an addition dimension to her wonderful poems. They also don't mess up the simplicity of her reading voice with background music or any other distractions. It's about 40 poems, drawn from various books.

Mary Oliver is certainly one of our finest contemporary poets. Her terse and sparse use of language in effect widens our horizons as we readers are able to expand our vision through her creative work.
This CD has ample examples of her poetry, from several different volumes, and the listener can accompany the readings with personal copies of the published works. Oliver's ability to use the natural settings of her New England environment to state something profound about the human condition is one of her gifts. To see in the ordinary what is unforgettable, is another. Her language is visual, so that we see what she describes in new ways. This collection of poems, read by the poet, is a classic and one to be treasured and listened to over and over.

Mary Oliver is a Pulitzer Prize winning poet. Non-dogmatic spirituality quietly grabs you through her Zen awareness of the here and now. In and of themselves, her poems are passionate. Having her read them aloud is an extra bonus. This is a great collection to listen to when stuck in a traffic jam or when settling down at night for a peaceful sleep. Mary Oliver reading Mary Oliver. It's like pie a la mode!

The DVD itself is technically a little wanting -- the recordings of the poet reading clearly come from a variety of different events and are patched together with varying levels of care. However, the poems are beautiful and it is a joy to hear Oliver's voice speaking them.

Listening to Mary Oliver read her own poetry is a joyful, serene experience. "Wild Geese" is one poem that I could hear several times each day. I am grounded by listening to Mary Oliver.

This recording contains quite a number of poems that appear in New and Selected Poems: Volume One. It was nice to hear Mary Oliver read her own work. Listen while doing housework. Makes the work and time go faster.