Customer Reviews

Swan: Poems and Prose Poems

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

 

 

I have devoured this pre-ordered copy and then re-read much more slowly. I love her take on nature and its realism - yes, she finds so much beautiful but she knows the darker side and in accepting that, accepts the truth of things in nature (including ourselves, naturally.) I laughed at the Percy (her dog)poems and then saw deeper wisdom in them. I look forward to immersing myself in the book over time. My favorite poem at this point is "For Example". Who can resist the line?
"But we all know, don't we, how sometimes
things have to feel anger, so as not
to be defeated?"

Mary Oliver does it again! After a brief time of what I felt was perhaps poetry depressed by the death of her long time partner, this new book is filled with life and living images, with the joy and reverence Oliver has always shown, toward all of nature.

I'll continue buying every one of her books.

You can sense the recovery from the loss of her life partner in her poems. An interesting look at faith and nature - a must read for Oliver fans!

Currently my favorite of Oliver's books, I keep going back to Swan again and again. Her compassionate, spiritual, loving contemplation of the world around and within her is a beautiful gift that she shares with us.

Love Mary Oliver's poetry. I appreciate and look at the natural world with new eyes each and every time I visit one of her poems. This is not as strong as some of her other work. But that's like saying that
Halle Berry is having a bad hair day-yet still beautiful just the same.

Pick it up and fill your heart and soul with art that looks to shine its light on the simple joy of living.

Enjoyed reading this very much, its a nice collection and to my delight the book itself is nicely done as well!

having been thrilled with her past few volumes, this seemed like a re-run of images and thoughts that offer nothing new--it's almost as if she's come down from the past few years of intense work that offered exquisite new freshness and landed back in 'the same old stuff'

According to numerous sources (such as the New York Times Book Review and the Poetry Foundation website), Mary Oliver is one of the best selling poets, if not the best selling poet, currently writing in the U.S.A. With this in mind, I read this book with interest. I was moved by some of poems, especially the title poem. Her best quality is her ablity to use clear and accessible language to write precisely about nature and sometimes faith. However, compared to numerous other poetry collections that I have read in just the last year, I was incredibly underwhelmed. I would recommend "Swan" but not before recommending any book written by one of the following underrated poets: Kathleen Bonanno, Barbara Crooker, Margaret Hoehn, Diane Lockward, Mindy Nettifee and Jawanza Phoenix.