Why I Wake Early

Rating:
Summary: Earthy yet sacred, simple yet profound.
Review: In her 2002 book of poetry, WHAT DO WE KNOW, Pulitzer-Prize winning poet expressed her sense of wonder while listening to a loon at four a. m. (p. 64). In this new collection of 42 poems, she responds to the same question people have been asking me nearly all my life, "why wake up so early?" "It is what I was born for," Oliver explains, "to look, to listen,/ to lose myself/ inside this soft world--/ to instruct myself/ over and over/ in joy,/ and acclamation./ Nor am I talking/ about the exceptional,/ the fearful, the dreadful,/ the very extravagant--/ but of the ordinary,/ the common, the very drab,/ the daily presentations" ("Mindful," pp. 58-9). With a poet's gift of observation and a naturalist's eye for detail, Oliver turns her attention to the morning sun (p. 3), beans (p. 10), an arrowhead "found beside the river" (p. 11), trout lilies (p.12), a green snow cricket (p. 15), a swimming blacksnake (p. 19), clouds (p. 22), a marsh hawk floating in wide circles (p. 31), a flock of snow geese (p. 34), a bear track (p. 41), a luna moth "like a broken leaf" (p. 41), watching deer disappearing "into the impossible trees" (p. 49), "prayers that are made of grass" (p. 59), toads "sweet and alive in the sun" (p. 61), and the pleasures of lingering in happiness after a rain (p. 71) in these poems, always discovering the sacred within the ordinary. Whether she is "the madcap person clapping [her] hands and singing," or "that quiet person down on [her] knees" ("Sometimes," p. 39), readers will experience poetry in WHY I WAKE EARLY that Mary Oliver is best-known for, poetry that is earthy yet sacred, simple yet profound.

G. Merritt

Rating:
Summary: Earthy yet sacred, simple yet profound.
Review: In her 2002 book of poetry, WHAT DO WE KNOW, Pulitzer-Prize winning poet expressed her sense of wonder while listening to a loon at four a. m. (p. 64). In this new collection of 42 poems, she responds to the same question people have been asking me nearly all my life, "why wake up so early?" "It is what I was born for," Oliver explains, "to look, to listen,/ to lose myself/ inside this soft world--/ to instruct myself/ over and over/ in joy,/ and acclamation./ Nor am I talking/ about the exceptional,/ the fearful, the dreadful,/ the very extravagant--/ but of the ordinary,/ the common, the very drab,/ the daily presentations" ("Mindful," pp. 58-9). With a poet's gift of observation and a naturalist's eye for detail, Oliver turns her attention to the morning sun (p. 3), beans (p. 10), an arrowhead "found beside the river" (p. 11), trout lilies (p.12), a green snow cricket (p. 15), a swimming blacksnake (p. 19), clouds (p. 22), a marsh hawk floating in wide circles (p. 31), a flock of snow geese (p. 34), a bear track (p. 41), a luna moth "like a broken leaf" (p. 41), watching deer disappearing "into the impossible trees" (p. 49), "prayers that are made of grass" (p. 59), toads "sweet and alive in the sun" (p. 61), and the pleasures of lingering in happiness after a rain (p. 71) in these poems, always discovering the sacred within the ordinary. Whether she is "the madcap person clapping [her] hands and singing," or "that quiet person down on [her] knees" ("Sometimes," p. 39), readers will experience poetry in WHY I WAKE EARLY that Mary Oliver is best-known for, poetry that is earthy yet sacred, simple yet profound.

G. Merritt

Rating:
Summary: beautiful poems
Review: Mary Oliver has written a beautiful collection of 47 poems that shows her love of nature, and really why she does wake early to greet the day. One of the qualities of her writing that I most enjoyed is that she expresses her intricate love of nature with a joy that lacks sentimentality. She spends her time determining what she is seeing and hearing and writes about that rather than looking inward to how she feels about everything. Therefore, her joy and feeling come through in the words she chooses to describe her subjects, and not in a list of subjective feelings. For me, that made her poetry universal and a communication that I could share in. I highly recommend this book for both the poetry and nature lover.

Rating:
Summary: Wise and Gentle Observations
Review: This is a lovely, uplifting book of poems. It celebrates the gifts life provides if we would only wake and observe the natural world. These poems bring solace to the soul. They seem to come from a place where one's life is winding down, slowing to a comfortable and relaxed peace - as if Mary Oliver is held in the arms of the natural world near the end of life and describing how wonderful it all is.

This book tells us it is enough to be at peace with the world and to enjoy what we've been given. Now in her seventies, she may have moved beyond the inner struggles of past and worries of future. The poems in Why I Wake Early, seem to say that for her it is now enough to observe, describe, and enjoy what nature offers. She does not need to wrestle with meaning - just be and enjoy.

Perhaps I am too cynical, certainly less evolved or mature. However, I was hoping for more poems that touched upon the conflicts and cruelty we observe and survive. I wanted to experience more poems with challenge and pain - like those in American Primitive. I was hoping for poems that moved through beauty and darkness, then resolved in a wiser, deeper peace.

So, I was disappointed because the poems in Why I Wake Early lacked angst and profound observations. Don't get me wrong - these poems are eloquent, beautifully descriptive and gentle - full of appreciation and respect for the natural world. They are each a gift of thanks.

I just happen to prefer the depth and range of her earlier poems. I recommend new readers get and read her Selected Poems first, then read this book. All of her books are treasures, including this one - so whatever you do, read Mary Oliver's work. I've given books by her to many friends, and each of them comments on what amazing poems they are. She is a remarkable, gifted poet - one of the best in America.