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Mary Oliver (1935–2019) was born near Cleveland, Ohio, and found refuge from a difficult childhood in nature, where she began writing poetry. Though she attended Ohio State University and Vassar College, she earned no degree. Influenced early by Edna St. Vincent Millay, Oliver later settled in Provincetown, Massachusetts, with her longtime partner, Molly Malone Cook; the landscapes of Cape Cod profoundly shaped her work. Known for her clear, lyrical voice and deep engagement with the natural world, Oliver’s poetry is rooted in place and the Romantic nature tradition.
Her fifth book, American Primitive (1983), won the Pulitzer Prize and brought major critical acclaim. Later collections—including Dream Work (1986) and New and Selected Poems (1992), which won the National Book Award—marked a gradual shift from pure nature observation to more personal and spiritual themes, while retaining a tone of wonder and amazement. A prolific writer of poetry and prose, Oliver published regularly for decades, exploring the meeting of human consciousness and the natural world. She received numerous honors, taught at Bennington College until 2001, and lived in Massachusetts and Florida until her death at age 83.