Synopsis
A Thousand Mornings
Oliver's 2012 poetry collection entitled A Thousand Mornings offers unique reflections of the natural world, the beauty of everyday life and spiritual connections. These short, lyrical poems use descriptions of coastal Massachusetts, Oliver's hometown, to speak on topics such as mindfulness, gratitude, and the wonders of the universe. She paints a vivid picture of the local landscape, the animals that occupy it and how the seasons change. She celebrates the small things we tend to take for granted, from rivers to insects to the sky, spinning ordinary objects into deeper meanings. Through these snippets, she reminds us not to let life pass by without experiencing its many seen and unseen wonders.
Review
While Mary Oliver is one of my favorite poets, this anthology didn't particularly stand out for me. Like her other books, this one heavily centers around nature imagery. Oliver has a profound ability to take something so simple--a leaf or bird call for example--and spin something magical from that small moment. My issue with this book is how reliant the prose is on abstract reflections. Many pieces felt redundant and veered more towards affirmation than poetry. In my opinion, there was a very perceptible lack of nuanced objective correlatives, which is something Oliver typically excels at. I would recommend her other book Dream Work instead.