Long Life: Essays and Other Writings

119 Pages·2005·0.402 MB·English

by  Mary Oliver

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“A rigorous mind combined with a capacity for devotion;
M A R Y O L I V E R
a desire to find the exact, economical, shining phrase; M
a wish to witness, and a wish to share.”—Chicago Tribune A
winner of the pulitzer prize and
R
the national book award
“The gift of Oliver’s poetry is that she communicates the beauty she Y
finds in the world and makes it unforgettable” (Miami Herald). O
This has never been truer than in Long Life, a luminous collection L
of seventeen essays and ten poems. I
V
With the grace and precision that are the hallmarks of her
E
work, Oliver shows us how writing “is a way of offering praise to
R
the world” and suggests we see her poems as “little alleluias.”
Whether describing a goosefish stranded at low tide, the feeling of
being baptized by the mist from a whale’s blowhole, or the “con-
nection between soul and landscape,” Oliver invites readers to find
themselves and their experiences at the center of her world. In Long
Lifeshe also speaks of poets and writers: Wordsworth’s “whirlwind”
of “beauty and strangeness”; Hawthorne’s “sweet-tempered” side;
and Emerson’s belief that “a man’s inclination, once awakened to it,
L
would be to turn all the heavy sails of his life to a moral purpose.”
o
With consummate craftsmanship, Mary Oliver has created a
n
breathtaking volume sure to add to her reputation as “one of our
g
very best poets” (New York Times Book Review).
L
“Oliver writes exquisitely lucid prose. Here, in her most generously
i
personal essays to date, she articulates the beliefs, observations, and f
e
inspirations that feed her poetry. Essential . . . radiant.”—Booklist
Mary Oliveris the author of more than twenty books, including
The Leaf and the Cloudand What Do We Know.Her many accolades
L ong Life
include the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. She lives
in Provincetown, Massachusetts, with Molly Malone Cook.
$16.00US/$18.50CAN ESSAYS/POETRY
essays and other writings
Da Capo Press
Cover photograph © 1984
A Member of the Perseus Books Group Barbara Savage Cheresh
www.dacapopress.com Cover design by Alex Camlin
Cover photograph: Molly Malone Cook (L) and Mary Oliver (R) in Provincetown, 1984
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L O N G L I F E
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Other Books by Mary Oliver

No Voyage and Other Poems
The River Styx, Ohio, and Other Poems
Twelve Moons
American Primitive
Dream Work
House of Light
New and Selected Poems
White Pine
West Wind
The Leaf and the Cloud
What Do We Know
Owls and Other Fantasies

The Night Traveler
Sleeping in the Forest
Provincetown

A Poetry Handbook
Blue Pastures
Rules for the Dance
Winter Hours
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Long Life
   
Mary Oliver
  
A Member of the Perseus Books Group
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Copyright © by Mary Oliver
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be repro-
duced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form
or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, record-
ing, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the
publisher. Printed in the United States of America.
Designed by Anne Chalmers
Set in .point Adobe Garamond by Anne Chalmers
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Oliver, Mary, 1935-
Long life : essays and other writings / Mary Oliver.
p. cm.
ISBN 0-306-80995-8(hardcover : alk. paper)
I. Title.
PS3565.L5L65 2004
818'.54—dc22
2003027232
First Da Capo Press edition 00
Published by Da Capo Press
A Member of the Perseus Books Group
http://www.dacapopress.com
Da Capo Press books are available at special discounts for bulk
purchases in the U.S. by corporations, institutions, and other
organizations. For more information, please contact the
Special Markets Department at the Perseus Books Group, 
Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 0, or call (800) –
or () –98, or e-mail [email protected].
—
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
MOLLY MALONE COOK
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Contents
Foreword · xiii
 : Flow · 

Flow ·
Habits, Differences, and the

Light That Abides ·

Poem: Can You Imagine? ·
Three Histories and a

Hummingbird ·
 : Wordsworth’s Mountain · 

Wordsworth’s Mountain ·

Dog Talk ·

The Perfect Days ·