Upstream: Selected Essays for Gen Z

"Upstream," a captivating collection of essays from beloved poet Mary Oliver, has been named one of The Oprah Magazine's Ten Best Books of the Year and a New York Times bestseller. As Maureen Corrigan of NPR's Fresh Air notes, "There's hardly a page in my copy of Upstream that isn't folded down or underlined and scribbled on, so charged is Oliver's language." This gem of a collection offers readers a compelling synthesis of the poet's thoughts on the natural, spiritual, and artistic worlds.

The book's opening lines set the tone: "In the beginning I was so young and such a stranger to myself I hardly existed. I had to go out into the world and see it and hear it and react to it, before I knew at all who I was, what I was, what I wanted to be." Oliver reflects on her willingness, as a child and as an adult, to immerse herself in the beauty and mysteries of the natural world and the realm of literature.

A central figure in Oliver's journey of self-discovery is the revered poet Walt Whitman, whom she refers to as her childhood "friend." Through Whitman's work, Oliver first understood that a poem is a temple, "a place to enter, and in which to feel," and he encouraged her to vanish into the world of her writing. Oliver meditates on the forces that allowed her to create a life for herself through work and love, acknowledging, "I could not be a poet without the natural world. Someone else could. But not me. For me the door to the woods is the door to the temple."

Throughout Upstream, Oliver positions not just herself but also her readers "upstream," encouraging us to keep moving, to lose ourselves in the awe of the unknown, and to give power and time to the creative and whimsical urges that live within us. She contemplates the pleasure of artistic labor, her boundless curiosity for the flora and fauna that surround her, and the responsibility she has inherited from literary giants like Shelley, Wordsworth, Emerson, Poe, and Frost to live thoughtfully and observe with passion.

The New York Times describes Upstream as a collection that "offers a compelling synthesis of the poet's thoughts on the natural, spiritual and artistic worlds," and it is clear why this work has been so widely acclaimed. Oliver's poetic and introspective voice invites readers to join her on a journey of self-discovery, appreciation for the natural world, and a deeper understanding of the creative process.

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