The collection will never address masses but it will address reader who seek for proves of power of life and power of humanity.

The New York Times recently acknowledged Mary Oliver as "far and away, this country's best-selling poet. She has been awarded Honorary Doctorates from The Art Institute of Boston (1998), Dartmouth College (2007) and Tufts University (2008). Born in a small town in Ohio, Mary Oliver published her first book of poetry in 1963 at the age of 28.

This was the first poem in Devotions that really got to me, in part because I had a copy of Marc's Blue Horses, made by my uncle, hanging in my room as a child. Herons, sparrows, owls, and kingfishers flit across the page in meditations on love, artistry, and impermanence. At its heart, Blue Horses asks what it means to truly belong to this world, to live in it attuned to all its changes. As you may be able to guess from the year he died, Marc didn't make it through World War I, a sad fact addressed by Mary Oliver as well.

Her poems are astute, concise and personal; packed with emotion and imagery supporting the reader's understanding of life beyond and yet within the mundane. Then I had enjambment explained to me, the pennies fell from my eyes, I understood and I began to enjoy Oliver's poems. The gift of Oliver's poetry is that she communicates the beauty she finds in the world and makes it unforgettable.

Being Christian myself, I do like this idea, but I can also imagine that for non-religious readers that perhaps doesn't strike entirely true. I love how the first two lines are almost like a frame-narrative, a gateway into the poem where you have to accept that as the viewer you can step into a painting and engage with it, relate to it, learn from it. For those who want more, who want the horses to mean something more clear or more defined, Oliver asks what you could possible expect. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. Oliver's books on the craft of poetry, A Poetry Handbook and Rules for the Dance, are used widely in writing programs.

Miami HeraldOliver's poems are thoroughly convincing - as genuine, moving and implausible as the first caressing breeze of spring. Oliver's poems are thoroughly convincing - as genuine, moving and implausible as the first caressing breeze of spring.Whether considering a bird’s nest, the seeming patience of oak trees or the paintings of Franz Marc, Mary Oliver reminds us of the transformative power of attention and how much can be contained within the smallest moments. Oliver's essays have appeared in Best American Essays 1996, 1998, 2001; the Anchor Essay Annual 1998, as well as Orion, Onearth and other periodicals. The _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report. Whether considering a bird's nest, the seeming patience of oak trees, or the artworks of Franz Marc, Oliver reminds us of the transformative power of attention and how much can be contained within the smallest moments. Herons, sparrows, owls and kingfishers flit across the page in meditations on love, artistry and impermanence.