Mary Oliver has published fifteen volumes of poetry and five books of prose in the span of four decades, but she rarely performs her poetry in live readings. Now, with the arrival of At Blackwater Pond, Mary Oliver has given her audience what they've longed to hear: the poet's voice reading her own work. In this beautifully produced compact disc, Mary Oliver has recorded forty of her favourite poems, nearly spanning the length of her career, from Dream Work through her newest volume, New and Selected Poems, Volume Two. The package is shrink-wrapped so that the elegant clothbound audiobook can takes its place on the poetry shelf. It also includes a fifteen-page booklet with an original essay, "Performance Note," photos of the author at Blackwater Pond, and a full listing of the poems and their sources.
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[Look, the trees / are turning / their own bodies / into pillars AT BLACKWATER POND]***
(@BeaconPressBks, 1 April 2006, audiobook, 1 hour 37 minutes, borrowed from @natpoetrylib via @OverDriveLibs, narrated by the poet)
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I'm quite a fan of Mary Oliver. I read her collection, Dream Work last year and thought it was amazing. I was looking forward to this. I enjoyed this audiobook with the poet reading some of her work, her personal selection of her favourite pieces. Some of the poems are familiar as I read them in Dream Work but most were new to me. I enjoyed the poems. Oliver is a rare poet, someone who can write poetry about nature and the natural world without boring me. I need to read more of her work.
