Tag Archives: Mary Oliver

Out of Black Ponds, Water Lillies

By Robin Bates | Published: April 16, 2022

“Morning Poem” works as an Easter poem because every morning, as Oliver sees it, is a mini-resurrection.

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Maybe Death Is as Soft as Feathers

By Robin Bates | Published: February 19, 2022

In her poem “White Owl Flies Into and Out of the Field,” Mary Oliver finds a reassuring image of death.

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Lit as a Life Survival Kit

By Robin Bates | Published: February 10, 2022

When I teach literature, I emphasize application first, interpretation second.

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Let Love Clasp Grief Lest Both Be Drown’d

By Robin Bates | Published: January 2, 2022

When death strikes, poetry is there to sustain us.

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Diving into May Flowers

By Robin Bates | Published: May 10, 2021

An Oliver poem and a Murdoch observation for the month of May.

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Feeding This Feverish Plot

By Robin Bates | Published: April 17, 2021

Mary Oliver’s “Fish” may be her interpretation of the post-Resurrection story of Jesus eating boiled fish.

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Freed Like a Beached Whale

By Robin Bates | Published: March 29, 2021

Our spirits have curiously been lifted by the freeing of the Ever Given. Various whale poems come to mind.

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Out of Pain We Feed This Feverish Plot

By Robin Bates | Published: January 23, 2021

One can read Mary Oliver’s “The Fish” as a description of the eucharist–which is appropriate for today’s gospel reading about fishing for people.

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Hanukkah: Light Invites Happiness

By Robin Bates | Published: December 12, 2020

Mary Oliver’s celebration of light in “Poppies” qualifies it as a Hanukkah poem.

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