Evidence : Poems

Overview: Never afraid to shed the pretense of academic poetry, never shy of letting the power of an image lie in unadorned language, Mary Oliver offers us poems of arresting beauty that reflect on the power of love and the great gifts of the natural world. Inspired by the familiar lines from William Wordsworth, "To me the meanest flower that blows can give / Thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears," she uncovers the evidence presented to us daily by nature, in rivers and stones, willows and field corn, the mockingbird's "embellishments," or the last hours of darkness.

In this new volume of forty-seven poems, Mary Oliver delves even deeper than she has in the past into the mysteries of life, love, and death. Exploring the evidence presented to us daily by the natural world, inspired by the familiar lines from William Wordsworth: “To me the meanest flower that blows can give / Thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears,” Oliver offers poems of arresting beauty and insight. Never afraid to shed the pretense of academic poetry, never shy of letting the power of an image lie in unadorned language, Oliver’s work here reflects on the power of love and the great gifts of the natural world.

A new collection of forty-six works features deep explorations of such themes as the mysteries of life, love, and death, in a volume that investigates clues that can be found in the natural world and offers insight into the writer's use of unadorned language.