The Leaf and the Cloud - by Mary Oliver (Paperback)

About the Book

Now in paperback: From the winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National BookAward comes the bestselling book-length poem, selected for the "Best AmericanPoetry" annual in both 1999 and 2000.

Book Synopsis

An astonishing book-length poem in seven parts from the winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award.

With piercing clarity and craftsmanship, Mary Oliver has fashioned an unforgettable poem of questioning and discovery, about what is observable and what is not, about what passes and what persists.

"It's hard to imagine anyone putting down Oliver's book-length poem and not sighing with satisfaction, so sensible is every word and thought." --Virginia Quarterly Review

Review Quotes

Praise for Mary Oliver

"A great poet....She is amazed but not blinded."--Boston Globe

"A master of spare and evocative imagery."--Poetry

"Oliver might be accused of an untransformed and reactionary romanticism. One would think that poems about self, nature, death, and ecstasy had run their course in English. Think again."--Chicago Tribune

"Oliver's poems are thoroughly convincing as genuine, moving, and implausible as the first caressing breeze of spring."--The New York Times

"The gift of Oliver's poetry is that she communicates the beauty she finds in the world and makes is unforgettable."--Miami Herald

"What good company Mary Oliver is!"--Los Angeles Times

"Who wouldn't want to be part of Mary Oliver's world?"--Appalachian Review

About the Author

Born in a small town in Ohio, Mary Oliver published her first book of poetry in 1963 at the age of 28. Over the course of her long career, she received numerous awards. Her fourth book, American Primitive, won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1984. She led workshops and held residencies at various colleges and universities, including Bennington College, where she held the Catharine Osgood Foster Chair for Distinguished Teaching. She was the author of more than twenty books, including The Leaf and the Cloud and Long Life. Her many accolades include the National Book Award. She died in 2019.