• About

Bonespark~

~ Lighting the Fire…Write Hot!!!

Bonespark~

Tag Archives: the poet as witness

Some Lines from Mary Oliver for Foremother Friday

25 Friday Apr 2014

Posted by BoneSpark Blog in Foremother Friday, Thoughts on Poetry

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

A Poetry Handbook, A Thousand Mornings, Foremother Friday, Mary Oliver, Mary Oliver Pinterest Goodies, NPR interview, the poet as witness, the poet's work, White Pine

hat-mary-oliver
Mary Oliver is at the top of my most admired poets list.  She is my go-to when I want to examine the natural world without leaving my doorstep, but perhaps her best lines are those that connect nature to the work of the poet.

This from her poem, titled “Work” (from the collection White Pine):

All day I work
with the linen of words
and the pins of punctuation
all day I hang out
over a desk

grinding my teethimages
staring.
Then I sleep.

Then I come out of the house,
even before the sun is up,

and walk back through the pinewoods
to Pasture Pond.

In a 2012 NPR interview, Oliver talks more about the poet as witness and how discipline and nature help shape her poems.  We are also treated here to a reading from her collection A Thousand Mornings.

If you are interested in digging deeper into Mary’s poetic vision and technique, I suggest you pick up a copy of her slim, but powerful text, A Poetry Handbook.  It is the next best thing to taking her workshops, and is available at a reasonable price both new and used.

And now just for fun, a small grab-bag of Pinterest goodies featuring M. Oliver quotes for you to download and print: Instructions for Living; It is better for the heart ;One day you finally knew;Keep Some Room;We need beauty;To pay attention;I have been thinking ;Someone I loved;I want to think again;The world offers itself . FYI: These look great with dollar store frames and make lovely gifts for writerly friends.

 

  • Open call to poet bloggers: If you would like to contribute to next week’s Foremother Friday (inspired by the Women’s Poetry List-Serv), please drop me a line at bonesparkblog@yahoo.com.  I love hearing from you!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Tumblr

Like this:

Like Loading...

Recent Posts

  • Sunday Sentence 1/19/2020
  • NonFiction November Recap
  • Read This With That
  • Hidden Treasures of Booktube
  • (Belated) Sunday Sentence 7/14/19

Archives

Categories

  • 2sDay Poems
  • C.A. Explains It All
  • Fiction Experiments
  • Foremother Friday
  • National Poetry Month '15
  • National Poetry Month '16
  • National Poetry Month '17
  • NonFiction Nook
  • Odd Bits from a Creative Life
  • Poetry Lab
  • Small Press Interviews
  • Sunday Sentence
  • Thoughts on Poetry
  • Uncategorized

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 1,448 other subscribers

Follow me on Twitter

My Tweets

Blogroll

  • Amy King's Alias
  • Arts & Lit @Deep South Mag
  • Blogalicious
  • Catalogue of Women Artists
  • Dear Outer Space
  • International Centre For Women Playwrights
  • Irish Writer's Centre
  • It's About Time Art Blog
  • Kristen Lamb's Blog
  • List of Poetry Journals (Poetry Society of America)
  • Myself the Only Kangaroo
  • National Museum of Women in the Arts
  • Practicing Writing
  • Resources for Southern Writers
  • Sealaska Heritage Institute
  • THE BLIND CHATELAINE'S KEYS
  • The Book of Kells
  • The Other Side of the Story
  • VIDA-Women in the Literary Arts
  • Women's Poetry List-Serv
  • WordCraft Circle
  • Wordgathering: Finding Poetry
  • Write It Sideways

Quick Links

  • Girls Gotta Write: Lit Mags for Us
  • Literary Journals Who Read in Summer (via Blogalicious)
  • Native American Poetry and Culture
  • Presses w/ Open Reading For Full-Length Poetry MS By Month
  • Scouting Small Press Poetry: A Tiny Guide
  • Small Poetry Presses Part II
  • VIDA's List of Women-Run Presses

Recent Work

  • "In the Heartland" poem from McNeese Review
  • Art @ Belle Journal
  • Collage @Foliate Oak
  • Latest Review @SabotageReviews
  • Notes on New Orleans Small Press Poetry @SabotageReviews
  • Papercut Art @Turk's Head Review
  • Review of THE SOUTHEAST REVIEW @theReviewReview

I LOVE POETRY Button

I’m a Southern Writer

Native Blood

American NDN

Member of The Internet Defense League

  • Follow Following
    • Bonespark~
    • Join 106 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Bonespark~
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
%d bloggers like this: