Mary Oliver

Mary Oliver was born in the small town of Maple Heights, Ohio on September 10, 1935. Her father was a social studies teacher and an athletics coach in the Cleveland public schools. Turning to writing as a creative escape

Old Poets of China, The

by Mary Oliver (1935–2019)

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15

Wherever I am, the world comes after me.

It offers me its busyness. It does not believe

that I do not want it. Now I understand

why the old poets of China went so far and high

into the mountains, then crept into the pale mist.

Click here for complete poem

Poets Book of Days

January 17

Yvor Winters died, 1968

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Poetry Trivia

Question:

What Elizabethan poet's ambiguous epitaph could be read either as an invitation to pray for his soul or a comment on his great wit?

Answer

Ben Jonson. His tomb reads, "O rare Ben Jonson" which has been taken by some to refer to the Latin word orare ("pray") and by others to be a comment on the scarcity of such a witty man.

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