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Upstream: Selected Essays
by Mary Oliver
I think I want to be Mary Oliver.
This book spoke volumes to me. It details exactly how Oliver sees her own creative process, and the greater powers that be that drive that process. She and I think a lot when it comes to that: take a walk outside, take your time, and just observe. Watch. That's it. I get my best ideas when I'm simply taking Waffle out for a walk, and I've mentally kicked myself a few times since I haven't yet made a habit of carrying a notebook and pen with me. And based on these essays, Mary Oliver is the same way. It felt like the perfect resolution to my own forayinto Artist's Way creative recovery, and I'm carrying this book with me because of it.
Not only does her relationship with nature resonate with me, but her relationship with classical authors .Granted, I haven't read much of classical American literature (Poe, Whitman, Thoreau and Emerson were her examples), but of what I have read, I too feel the same way as she does about them. I wish I'd learned about Oliver sooner. I wish I'd been more open to poetry when I was younger, but I can start now. Oliver seems like the role model I want to learn from, the master I serve apprentice to. She's widely regarded as an excellent observer of the natural world, and it absolutely shines in these essays. Small, poignant, and lyrical. It's the perfect little book, and such a valuable tool.
This book spoke volumes to me. It details exactly how Oliver sees her own creative process, and the greater powers that be that drive that process. She and I think a lot when it comes to that: take a walk outside, take your time, and just observe. Watch. That's it. I get my best ideas when I'm simply taking Waffle out for a walk, and I've mentally kicked myself a few times since I haven't yet made a habit of carrying a notebook and pen with me. And based on these essays, Mary Oliver is the same way. It felt like the perfect resolution to my own forayinto Artist's Way creative recovery, and I'm carrying this book with me because of it.
Not only does her relationship with nature resonate with me, but her relationship with classical authors .Granted, I haven't read much of classical American literature (Poe, Whitman, Thoreau and Emerson were her examples), but of what I have read, I too feel the same way as she does about them. I wish I'd learned about Oliver sooner. I wish I'd been more open to poetry when I was younger, but I can start now. Oliver seems like the role model I want to learn from, the master I serve apprentice to. She's widely regarded as an excellent observer of the natural world, and it absolutely shines in these essays. Small, poignant, and lyrical. It's the perfect little book, and such a valuable tool.