08/01/2016
Distinguished, honored, prolific, popular, bestselling—adjectives that don’t always hang out together—describe Oliver’s body of work, nearly three dozen volumes of poetry and collections of prose. This group (19 essays, 16 from previous collections) is a distillation of sorts. Born of two “blessings—the natural world, and the world of writing: literature,” it partakes of the spirits of a journal, a commonplace book, and a meditation. The natural world pictured here is richly various, though Oliver seems most drawn to waterways. All manner of aquatic life—shark and mackerel, duck and egret—accompany her days, along with spiders, foxes, even a bear. Her keen observations come as narrative (following a fox) or as manual (building a house) or as poems masquerading as description (“I have seen bluefish arc and sled across the water, an acre of them, leaping and sliding back under the water, then leaping again, toothy, terrible, lashed by hunger”). When the world of writing enters, currently unfashionable 19th-century writers emerge—Percy Shelley, William Wordsworth, William James—in readings that evade academic textual analyses and share the look-at-what-I-saw tone animating Oliver’s observations of the natural world. The message of her book for its readers is a simple and profound one: open your eyes. (Oct.)
★ 09/15/2016
While most of the essays in this collection have been published previously, they span the last 20 years of this National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning poet's life so that the experience of reading them together is almost like reading a memoir. Rather than a seamless narrative about the major events that have shaped Oliver's life, the book is an extended meditation on the significant discoveries that formed her mind: the quiet woods near her childhood home in rural Ohio, Walt Whitman, Ralph Waldo Emerson, cool solitude. In each essay, Oliver reflects on these influences and reveals how they have made her the keen observer and artist that she is today. Her focus on nature and the concept of seeing calls to mind Annie Dillard's Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. Certainly, Oliver's collection will appeal to Dillard fans and to anyone who enjoys nature writing, but readers who have found Dillard too effusive will find Oliver much more precise and, therefore, much more accessible. VERDICT Highly recommended as an entrée to Oliver's works, this volume should also be required reading for artists of all kinds, not just writers, and especially aspiring creative minds.—Meagan Lacy, Guttman Community Coll., CUNY
2016-08-09
The Pulitzer Prize–winning poet lovingly reflects on her relationship to nature and the written word.As a child, Ohio native Oliver (Felicity: Poems, 2015, etc.) found her greatest solace in “two…blessings—the natural world and the world of writing.” In this collection, she provides readers glimpses into the solitary but rich world she has inhabited as a poet. The first of five untitled sections deals loosely with Oliver’s childhood, when she discovered the pleasures of the natural world and poet Walt Whitman, “the brother I did not have.” Oliver also discusses “the inner vision” that has guided and driven her as she has moved “upstream” against conventional life currents. In the second section, the poet offers observations on the forests, beaches, and watery places she loves. For her, all living things are interconnected: “not at this moment but soon enough, we are lambs and we are leaves, and we are stars, and the shining, mysterious pond water itself.” The third section contains Oliver’s musings on three writers—Emerson, Poe, and Wordsworth—who taught her about the writing craft and about living life with intelligence and sensitivity. Her fascination with animals defines the fourth section of the book. Like the bear that “rub[ed] up against the Provincetown Town Hall,” they are as much her companions as they are “ambassador[s] of a world that returns now only in poets’ dreams.” And while she must live in places meant for humans, it is the “temple” of nature to which she endlessly returns. In the final section, Oliver briefly considers Provincetown, which was her home of 50 years. Overfishing and climate change have transformed it into “a town of pleasure,” yet one that has for her always been “heaven.” Part paean to nature and part meditation on the writing life, this elegant and simply written book is a neo-Romantic celebration of life and the pursuit of art that is sure to enchant Oliver’s many admirers. A lyrical, tender essay collection.
There's hardly a page in my copy of Upstream that isn't folded down or underlined and scribbled on, so charged is Oliver's language...I need a moment away from unceasing word drip of debates about the election, about whether Elena Ferrante has the right to privacy, about whether Bob Dylan writes 'Literature.' I need a moment, more than a moment, in the steady and profound company of Mary Oliver and I think you might need one too.”—Maureen Corrigan, NPR’s Fresh Air
“Uniting essays from Oliver’s previous books and elsewhere, this gem of a collection offers a compelling synthesis of the poet’s thoughts on the natural, spiritual and artistic worlds . . . With each page, the book gains accumulative power. The various threads intertwine and become taut.”
- The New York Times
“When reading Mary Oliver in any form — poetry or prose — you oughtn't be surprised when suddenly you find yourself at a full stop. When you come across a sentence so arresting in its beauty — its construction, its word choice, its truths — you can't help but pause, hit "reread," and await the transformative soaking-in, the awakening of mind and soul that's sure to settle deeply. She never fails to stir us from whatever is the natural speck before our gaze to the immeasurable heaven's dome above and beyond.”— Chicago Tribune
“Upstream is a testament to a lifetime of paying attention, and an invitation to readers to do the same.”— Christian Science Monitor
“The richness of these essays—part revelation, part instruction—will prompt readers to dive in again and again.”—The Washington Post
“A tremendously vitalizing read…grounding and elevating at the same time.” —Brain Pickings
“Oliver immerses us in an ever-widening circle, in which a shrub or flower opens onto the cosmos, revealing our meager, masterful place in it. Hold “Upstream” in your hands, and you hold a miracle of ravishing imagery and startling revelation.” — Minneapolis Star Tribune
“Highly recommended as an entrée to Oliver’s works, this volume should also be required reading for artists of all kinds, not just writers, and especially aspiring creative minds.”— Library Journal (starred review)
“Distinguished, honored, prolific, popular, bestselling—adjectives that don’t always hang out together—describe Oliver’s body of work, nearly three dozen volumes of poetry and collections of prose. This group (19 essays, 16 from previous collections) is a distillation of sorts. Born of two “blessings—the natural world, and the world of writing: literature,” it partakes of the spirits of a journal, a commonplace book, and a meditation. The natural world pictured here is richly various, though Oliver seems most drawn to waterways. All manner of aquatic life—shark and mackerel, duck and egret—accompany her days, along with spiders, foxes, even a bear. Her keen observations come as narrative (following a fox) or as manual (building a house) or as poems masquerading as description (“I have seen bluefish arc and sled across the water, an acre of them, leaping and sliding back under the water, then leaping again, toothy, terrible, lashed by hunger”). When the world of writing enters, currently unfashionable 19th-century writers emerge—Percy Shelley, William Wordsworth, William James—in readings that evade academic textual analyses and share the look-at-what-I-saw tone animating Oliver’s observations of the natural world. The message of her book for its readers is a simple and profound one: open your eyes.”—Publishers Weekly
“Part paean to nature and part meditation on the writing life, this elegant and simply written book is a neo-Romantic celebration of life and the pursuit of art that is sure to enchant Oliver's many admirers. A lyrical, tender essay collection.”— Kirkus
