Reviews - Upstream: Selected Essays

2.74k reviews for:

Upstream: Selected Essays

Mary Oliver

4.07 AVERAGE

katherinenorth's review

4.5

emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

izzabella_'s review against another edition

4.0

inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing

I love the passion and contemplation of nature throughout this book; my favorite essays were the ones solely focused on the natural world and Oliver’s relation to it. I particularly enjoyed the essay entitle “Swoon”. Oliver also writes beautifully about other poets, including Poe, Whitman, and Emerson. Her literary analysis helped me see these poets in a deeper light, not necessarily a new light, but they enabled me to revisit these authors and what their works have to offer. This is a beautiful collection and I look forward to exploring her work further.

bookdragon137's review

5.0

emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective slow-paced

mary oliver reminds me that life beautiful. i want to read her words every day to remind myself to love like a child again, rise to meet the world, pay attention.

kiki_zzz's review

5.0

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

“…such a stranger to myself I hardly existed.”
“You must never stop being whimsical.”
“He was, of course, a piece of the sky.”

Realistic and surprisingly grim at times, but always with glimpses of hope. Mary knows the world she lives in, and acknowledges both the darkness and the light