Mary Oliver On Writing Poetry & Listening To The World

A wonderfully inspiring interview.

"What is is you plan to do with your one wild and precious life. - Mary Oliver

"Often quoted, but rarely interviewed, Mary Oliver is one of our greatest and most beloved poets. At 79, she honors us with an intimate conversation on the wisdom of the world, the salvation of poetry, and the life behind her writing." - On Being with Krista Tippett

Wild Geese

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.
-Mary Oliver

From: 

Dream Work

Copyright ©: 

Atlantic Monthly Press & Mary Oliver 

 

Read more Mary Oliver poems here.

Streamschool: Poetry + Animation

Poem & Illustration by Rosie, age 6

April is National Poetry Month. We don't get enough poetry in our lives do we?  I know I don't. Reading & writing poetry together with kids help build  creative thinking & literacy skills. In The Atlantic article entitled Why Teaching Poetry Is So Important, Andrew Simmons writes,

"poetry enables teachers to teach their students how to write, read, and understand any text. Poetry can give students a healthy outlet for surging emotions. Reading original poetry aloud in class can foster trust and empathy in the classroom community, while also emphasizing speaking and listening skills that are often neglected in high school literature classes."

Today I was delighted to stumble upon a lovely animated Hungarian poem called Zsolt Miklya. Artist Peter Vacz created a visual interpretation of the poem Streamschool by layering character animation over stop motion backgrounds. The artist writes about his creative process here.

Streamschool (Patakiskola) from Péter Vácz on Vimeo.

Poetry + animation.  Something we will no doubt be seeing more of as different kinds of digital books for kids emerge. What do you think?

RELATED

30 Ways To Celebrate Poetry Month
Poets.org
The Poetry Foundation
Digital Poetry Interfaces by Jason Nelson 
Poetry Beyond Text  
Building Literacy Skills With Poetry