"One of the astonishing aspects of Oliver's work is the consistency of tone over this long period. What changes is an increased focus on nature and an increased precision with language that has made her one of our very best poets." --Stephen Dobyns, New York Times Book Review 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 favorite 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. Mary Oliver is one of the most celebrated and best-selling poets in America. Her poetry books include Blue Iris (Beacon / 6882-9 / $22.00 hc); House of Light (Beacon / 6811-X / $13.00 pb); New and Selected Poems, Volume One (Beacon / 6877-2 / $16.00 pb); and New and Selected Poems, Volume Two (Beacon / 6886-1 / $24.95 hc). She has also published five books of prose, including Rules for the Dance and, most recently, Long Life. She lives in Provincetown, Massachusetts.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 5.0 / 5.0
Mary Oliver CD:
This is an excellent CD. Mary Oliver's reading voice is very interesting and adds an addition dimension to her wonderful poems. They also don't mess up the simplicity of her reading voice with background music or any other distractions. It's about 40 poems, drawn from various books.
Mary Oliver's reading:
The DVD itself is technically a little wanting -- the recordings of the poet reading clearly come from a variety of different events and are patched together with varying levels of care. However, the poems are beautiful and it is a joy to hear Oliver's voice speaking them.
Peaceful and Meaningful:
Listening to Mary Oliver read her own poetry is a joyful, serene experience. "Wild Geese" is one poem that I could hear several times each day. I am grounded by listening to Mary Oliver.
Poems on CD:
A wonderful collection from a wonderful career - and hopefully there are many more collections to come.
Sound quality is generally extremely good, 'though one or two tracks seem to be down on level, but hearing the poet read her own work gives the listener/reader that added benefit.
Essential listening.
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