The natural world has been a source of inspiration to many literary greats, and for poet Mary Oliver, the connection was truly profound. Born in 1935 in Maple Heights, Ohio, Oliver spent hours playing in the woods as a child. It was an escape from a difficult childhood; out in the forest, she not only played but started a deep, lifelong communion with nature and started writing poems to reflect it. At 28, she published her first book of poetry, No Voyage and Other Poems (1963). Her fifth book, American Primitive, won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1984.

Oliver’s poems use simple, straightforward language and clear, relatable imagery; the style, while miming her personal humility, also likely helped her commercial success as one of the bestselling poets in the U.S. It also masked a brooding depth — her spare, conversational prose leaves room for beauty and serenity while her precise and poignant observations illustrate her passion for her natural surroundings. Oliver lived in Provincetown, Massachusetts, with her partner Molly Malone Cook for more than 40 years; the poet found endless inspiration in the coastal New England landscapes. Following Cook’s death in 2005, Oliver moved to Florida, where she continued to write and lived until her death in 2019.