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Upstream: Selected Essays Hardcover – October 11, 2016

4.6 out of 5 stars 2,390 ratings

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One of O, The Oprah Magazine’s Ten Best Books of the Year 

The 
New York Times bestselling collection of essays from beloved poet, Mary Oliver.

“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 . . .” —Maureen Corrigan, NPR’s Fresh Air

“Uniting essays from Oliver’s previous books and elsewhere, this gem of a collection offers a compelling synthesis of the poet’s thoughts on the natural, spiritual and artistic worlds . . .” —The New York Times
 
“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.” 

So begins 
Upstream, a collection of essays in which reveredpoet Mary Oliver reflects on her willingness, as a young child and as an adult, to lose herself within the beauty and mysteries of both the natural world and the world of literature. Emphasizing the significance of her childhood “friend” Walt Whitman, through whose work she first understood that a poem is a temple, “a place to enter, and in which to feel,” and who encouraged her to vanish into the world of her writing, Oliver meditates on the forces that allowed her to create a life for herself out of work and love. As she writes, “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.” 
 
Upstream follows Oliver as 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 Shelley, Wordsworth, Emerson, Poe, and Frost, the great thinkers and writers of the past, to live thoughtfully, intelligently, and to observe with passion. Throughout this collection, Oliver positions not just herself upstream but us as well as she encourages us all 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.
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“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 . . . I need a moment away from unceasing word drip of debates about the election, about whether Elena Ferrante has the right to privacy, about whether Bob Dylan writes 'Literature.' I need a moment, more than a moment, in the steady and profound company of Mary Oliver and I think you might need one too.” —Maureen Corrigan, NPR’s Fresh Air

“Uniting essays from Oliver’s previous books and elsewhere, this gem of a collection offers a compelling synthesis of the poet’s thoughts on the natural, spiritual and artistic worlds . . . With each page, the book gains accumulative power. The various threads intertwine and become taut.” The New York Times

“When reading Mary Oliver in any form—poetry or prose—you oughtn't be surprised when suddenly you find yourself at a full stop. When you come across a sentence so arresting in its beauty—its construction, its word choice, its truths—you can't help but pause, hit "reread," and await the transformative soaking-in, the awakening of mind and soul that's sure to settle deeply. She never fails to stir us from whatever is the natural speck before our gaze to the immeasurable heaven's dome above and beyond.” —
Chicago Tribune

Upstream is a testament to a lifetime of paying attention, and an invitation to readers to do the same.” —Christian Science Monitor

“The richness of these essays—part revelation, part instruction—will prompt readers to dive in again and again.”
The Washington Post

“A tremendously vitalizing read . . . grounding and elevating at the same time.”
—Brain Pickings   

“Oliver immerses us in an ever-widening circle, in which a shrub or flower opens onto the cosmos, revealing our meager, masterful place in it. Hold
Upstream in your hands, and you hold a miracle of ravishing imagery and startling revelation.” —Minneapolis Star Tribune

“Highly recommended as an entrée to Oliver’s works, this volume should also be required reading for artists of all kinds, not just writers, and especially aspiring creative minds.” —
Library Journal (starred review)

“Distinguished, honored, prolific, popular, bestselling—adjectives that don’t always hang out together—describe Oliver’s body of work, nearly three dozen volumes of poetry and collections of prose. This group (19 essays, 16 from previous collections) is a distillation of sorts. Born of two 'blessings—the natural world, and the world of writing: literature,' it partakes of the spirits of a journal, a commonplace book, and a meditation. The natural world pictured here is richly various, though Oliver seems most drawn to waterways. All manner of aquatic life—shark and mackerel, duck and egret—accompany her days, along with spiders, foxes, even a bear. Her keen observations come as narrative (following a fox) or as manual (building a house) or as poems masquerading as description (“I have seen bluefish arc and sled across the water, an acre of them, leaping and sliding back under the water, then leaping again, toothy, terrible, lashed by hunger”). When the world of writing enters, currently unfashionable 19th-century writers emerge—Percy Shelley, William Wordsworth, William James—in readings that evade academic textual analyses and share the look-at-what-I-saw tone animating Oliver’s observations of the natural world. The message of her book for its readers is a simple and profound one: open your eyes.” 
Publishers Weekly

“Part paean to nature and part meditation on the writing life, this elegant and simply written book is a neo-Romantic celebration of life and the pursuit of art that is sure to enchant Oliver's many admirers. A lyrical, tender essay collection.” 
Kirkus

About the Author

Born in a small town in Ohio, Mary Oliver published her first book of poetry in 1963 at the age of 28. Over the course of her long career, she received numerous awards. Her fourth book, American Primitive, won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1984. She led workshops and held residencies at various colleges and universities, including Bennington College, where she held the Catharine Osgood Foster Chair for Distinguished Teaching. She died in 2019.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Press
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 11, 2016
  • Edition ‏ : ‎ First Edition
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 192 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1594206708
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1594206702
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12.2 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.77 x 0.75 x 8.58 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 out of 5 stars 2,390 ratings

About the author

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Mary Oliver
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A private person by nature, Mary Oliver has given very few interviews over the years. Instead, she prefers to let her work speak for itself. And speak it has, for the past five decades, to countless readers. The New York Times recently acknowledged Mary Oliver as "far and away, this country's best-selling poet." Born in a small town in Ohio, Oliver published her first book of poetry in 1963 at the age of 28; No Voyage and Other Poems, originally printed in the UK by Dent Press, was reissued in the United States in 1965 by Houghton Mifflin. Oliver has since published many works of poetry and prose. As a young woman, Oliver studied at Ohio State University and Vassar College, but took no degree. She lived for several years at the home of Edna St. Vincent Millay in upper New York state, companion to the poet's sister Norma Millay. It was there, in the late '50s, that she met photographer Molly Malone Cook. For more than forty years, Cook and Oliver made their home together, largely in Provincetown, Massachusetts, where they lived until Cook's death in 2005. Over the course of her long and illustrious career, Oliver has received numerous awards. Her fourth book, American Primitive, won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1984. She has also received the Shelley Memorial Award; a Guggenheim Fellowship; an American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters Achievement Award; the Christopher Award and the L.L. Winship/PEN New England Award for House of Light; the National Book Award for New and Selected Poems; a Lannan Foundation Literary Award; and the New England Booksellers Association Award for Literary Excellence. Oliver's essays have appeared in Best American Essays 1996, 1998, 2001; the Anchor Essay Annual 1998, as well as Orion, Onearth and other periodicals. Oliver was editor of Best American Essays 2009. Oliver's books on the craft of poetry, A Poetry Handbook and Rules for the Dance, are used widely in writing programs. She is an acclaimed reader and has read in practically every state as well as other countries. She has led workshops at various colleges and universities, and held residencies at Case Western Reserve University, Bucknell University, University of Cincinnati, and Sweet Briar College. From 1995, for five years, she held the Catharine Osgood Foster Chair for Distinguished Teaching at Bennington College. She has been awarded Honorary Doctorates from The Art Institute of Boston (1998), Dartmouth College (2007) and Tufts University (2008). Oliver currently lives in Provincetown, Massachusetts, the inspiration for much of her work.

Photo Credit: Rachel Giese Brown, 2009.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
2,390 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers praise the book's writing style, noting how it connects readers with the beauty of creation and illuminates Oliver's creative process. Moreover, the essays are filled with insights about nature and the soul, and one customer describes the observations of the natural world as breathtaking. Additionally, customers find the book immensely gratifying and appreciate its depth, with one review highlighting its reverent invitations to appreciate all forms of vastness. The language receives mixed reactions, with some praising the beautiful language use while others note it's not suitable for reading aloud.

100 customers mention "Writing style"100 positive0 negative

Customers praise the writing style of this book, describing it as essay-poetry at its best, with one customer noting how it connects readers with the beauty of creation.

"...Get ready for a treat- this book of essays is magical!" Read more

"...And these essays are just treasures! My favorite ones are about the birds, her dog Sammy, the bear... There's a theme here...." Read more

"...A poetic description of reading if ever I've read one...." Read more

"Beautifully written, we are invited to walk with Mary Oliver through her beloved landscapes - and as we do, these landscapes become our own, and our..." Read more

62 customers mention "Insight"59 positive3 negative

Customers find the book filled with insights and philosophical statements about nature, with one customer noting it explores universal truths of the soul.

"From her reflections on walks in the woods to incredible illuminations of her favorite authors, Oliver's collected essays of Upstream offer a..." Read more

"...I think the beautiful surprising metaphor carries more weight if it bursts into a passage of plain writing. Just me, probably." Read more

"...These lines withered me with their honesty and power...." Read more

"...Nature a boon, but the understanding of it as also indifferent to individual lives...the classic terrain of the poet...." Read more

15 customers mention "Heartfelt writing"15 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the heartfelt writing in the book, noting the author's observant soul of her surroundings, with one customer describing it as a brilliant expanse of feeling.

"...those who enjoy poetry on a variety of levels, there is just enough tender escapism balanced with simplistic, reverent invitations to appreciate all..." Read more

"...of qualities: immediately upon completing a read one feels a sense of profound truth...." Read more

"...In Upstream she takes us inside her life, sharing her experience and feeling...." Read more

"...tale of house building a. An ode to her home town reflect the generosity of her soul." Read more

7 customers mention "Nature content"7 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's nature content, with several noting its incredible love of nature, and one mentioning breathtaking observations of the natural world.

"...I recommend the book to nature lovers, writers, and anyone who appreciates wisdom 'down to earth' mystics." Read more

"So wonderful to be exploring outdoors with Mary Oliver. It was too short. I could have read on for hundreds of pages." Read more

"...of my list...she brought me into the world of poetry...her incredible love of nature is all through her work...i read and re-read all her books,..." Read more

"This book made me want to run outside and climb my favorite oak tree. There I would sit up high and watch the world. Her prose so enthused...." Read more

7 customers mention "Uplifting"7 positive0 negative

Customers find the book immensely gratifying and refreshing, with one mentioning it's a good way to start the day.

"...But what she did share was immensely gratifying. Every word has stayed with me." Read more

"...A fulfilling, life-giving read that I highly recommend." Read more

"What a completely joyous work! I have picked this s my go-to book for filling my broken spirit......" Read more

"...Thrilling!" Read more

5 customers mention "Depth"5 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the depth of the book, with one customer noting its reverent invitations to appreciate vastness, while another highlights its longer essays.

"...tender escapism balanced with simplistic, reverent invitations to appreciate all forms of vastness...." Read more

"Loved it!! Somewhat different from Oliver’s other poetry!! Longer Essays! I very much enjoys the it!..." Read more

"Lovely thoughts and meanderings about the author’s life near the woods and the ocean shared with dogs and birds...." Read more

"...Her writing is amazingly personal and tremendously deep and transcendent" Read more

5 customers mention "Gift value"5 positive0 negative

Customers find the book makes a great gift.

"...A lovely gift for anyone who reads and enjoys poetry, or for someone who might one day...This book should inspire." Read more

"...A great gift for a good friend." Read more

"...you have a friend who has all of Mary Oliver's poetry, this is a good gift to send." Read more

"very nice book. would make a great gift." Read more

6 customers mention "Language"4 positive2 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the language in the book, with some praising its beautiful use while others note that it is not suitable for reading aloud.

"Such a beautiful book. Beautiful language use, over and over. Spirituality and thoughtfulness ever-present...." Read more

"...I compared the two and the text is significantly lighter in this one...." Read more

"...maturity and wisdom contained in the essays is enhanced by the beautiful language...." Read more

"The beautifully heft of her language caused my heart to hum in unison; a walk with a very close friend." Read more

These essays are just treasures!
4 out of 5 stars
These essays are just treasures!
What a gem of a book! I love Mary Oliver's poems. I enjoy several of the poets she discusses in this book. And What a gem of a book! I love Mary Oliver's poems. I enjoy several of the poets she discusses in this book. And these essays are just treasures! My favorite ones are about the birds, her dog Sammy, the bear... There's a theme here. Favorite quote: "for me the door to the woods is the door to the temple". Spot on Mary Oliver, spot on! ! My favorite ones are about the birds, her dog Sammy, the bear... There's a theme here. Favorite quote: "for me the door to the woods is the door to the temple". Spot on Mary Oliver, spot on!
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on March 28, 2025
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    You cannot go wrong with Mary Oliver.
  • Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2025
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    If you've ever read a Mary Oliver poem, you likely know what to expect from her late-life prose, and you will want this book in your home. If you're by some chance unfamiliar with her spirit-lifting poetry, order this book, Google a few of her poems, and then drum your fingers and check your mailbox until 'Upstream' arrives. Chances are, you'll be after her powtry collections next...
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on October 23, 2024
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    If you already love Mary Oliver the. Get ready for a treat- this book of essays is magical!
  • Reviewed in the United States on March 1, 2025
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    What a gem of a book! I love Mary Oliver's poems. I enjoy several of the poets she discusses in this book. And What a gem of a book! I love Mary Oliver's poems. I enjoy several of the poets she discusses in this book. And these essays are just treasures! My favorite ones are about the birds, her dog Sammy, the bear... There's a theme here. Favorite quote: "for me the door to the woods is the door to the temple". Spot on Mary Oliver, spot on! ! My favorite ones are about the birds, her dog Sammy, the bear... There's a theme here. Favorite quote: "for me the door to the woods is the door to the temple". Spot on Mary Oliver, spot on!
    Customer image
    4.0 out of 5 stars
    These essays are just treasures!

    Reviewed in the United States on March 1, 2025
    What a gem of a book! I love Mary Oliver's poems. I enjoy several of the poets she discusses in this book. And What a gem of a book! I love Mary Oliver's poems. I enjoy several of the poets she discusses in this book. And these essays are just treasures! My favorite ones are about the birds, her dog Sammy, the bear... There's a theme here. Favorite quote: "for me the door to the woods is the door to the temple". Spot on Mary Oliver, spot on! ! My favorite ones are about the birds, her dog Sammy, the bear... There's a theme here. Favorite quote: "for me the door to the woods is the door to the temple". Spot on Mary Oliver, spot on!
    Images in this review
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    One person found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2017
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    From her reflections on walks in the woods to incredible illuminations of her favorite authors, Oliver's collected essays of Upstream offer a writing for everyone.

    "The best use of literature bends not toward the narrow and the absolute," she says, "But to the extravagant and the possible. Answers are no part of it; rather, it is the opinions, the rhapsodic persuasions, the engrafted logics, the clues that are to the mind of the reader the possible keys to his own self-quarrels, his own predicament" (69). A poetic description of reading if ever I've read one. She continues in the same paragraph, of Emerson: "The one thing he is adamant about is that we should look [at things for ourselves]--we must look--for that is the liquor of life, that brooding upon issues, that attention to thought even as we weed the garden or milk the cow" (69).

    Observations like the one above abound in Oliver's work, and I would put her nature reflections on par with Emerson or Thoreau, though not as earth-shattering (pun intended) as their writings were for their time. As she says in her writing "Let me be who I am, and then some," she certainly offers who she is, and then some. I, as her reader, am thankful for the experience.

    Extra note: She once built a small house in her back yard for $3.58 using scrap lumber and found materials. I find this incredibly inspiring.
    35 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on March 20, 2024
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    Beautifully written, we are invited to walk with Mary Oliver through her beloved landscapes - and as we do, these landscapes become our own, and our eyes and hearts open more to our own surroundings and the beauty in it, large and small. Also filled with specific writing moments to be inspired by - I just had to include this in my library and already think of it as a dear beloved friend, a fellow traveller on this journey that is life.
    8 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on August 9, 2017
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    Mary Oliver. One of my all time favorite poets had me doubting her in her newest book "Upstream." Until...Section Three - then WHAM! wake up Jenny Bates! you doubting Thomas! It was like I was sleepwalking through Sections One & Two. Of course, Section Three begins with essays about Emerson, Poe, Whitman - take notice! These essays are brilliant and it doesn't stop there. Section Four is as poignant and elegant as any poem by Oliver. So I add this small segment from Section Four to 'things I wish I had written'...my humility back in its place for the time being.
    "Dear Bear, it's no use, the world is like that. So stay where you are, and live long. Someday maybe we'll wise up and remember what you were: hopeless ambassador of a world that returns now only in poet's dreams."
    18 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2022
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    I am a fan of Oliver's poetry. These essays seem like a grab bag from her file drawers, not a coherent series of ideas moving from one chapter to the next. Many writers do this as they near the end, selecting the "left-overs" that deserve a printing or a reprinting.

    At one point in the book, Mary Oliver describes her enthusiastic approach to building (by her own hand) a small home, without the accompanying carpentry skills. Her description of the end result serves as a metaphor for this collection of essays. Individually, some are beautiful and worthy. Together, they don't build a structure that makes much sense to me.

    I also take issue with Oliver's contention that artists must be totally devoted to their art, and not distracted by "social" demands. This is exactly the way entitled men have staked their claim as artists (or professors, or most other professions) for centuries. Their wives or sisters or daughters were expected to take care of daily needs of family and friends and cleaning and cooking while men devoted themselves to their "important" pursuits behind closed doors - not to be disturbed.

    Somehow, so many women have managed to be true artists despite these multiple claims on their time. I would even suggest that had Oliver attended a bit more to the social side of life, her poetry and her essays might be even better than they already are. It is dangerous to define the artist in such a narrow, exclusive way. I wish she had not done so in this book.
    30 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
  • Basima Abu-Alhummos
    2.0 out of 5 stars The book is good but the copy is faulty
    Reviewed in the United Arab Emirates on November 30, 2023
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    The book is great I have enjoyed reading it! But the copy is faulty as it is not cut correctly and doesn't look right
  • KA VanIsle
    5.0 out of 5 stars Thoughtful, Evocative and Inspiring...
    Reviewed in Canada on July 29, 2024
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    Mary Oliver has become a companion voice for me on my journey as a creative person; her ability to surprise me into new understanding, to invite me to partake of the depth of her understanding and love for the natural world and its gifts and to nurture the same in me with her ineffable presence gives me unparalleled joy. I will read and reread the essays in this book with gratitude for Mary's enduring voice and heart.
  • México
    5.0 out of 5 stars La belleza de las pequeñas cosas de la vida
    Reviewed in Mexico on June 26, 2024
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    Es un respiro encontrar libros escritos con sensibilidad poetica y delicadeza sobre temas en los que uno no repara y pasan desapercibidos. No para quien se siente un integrante mas de la naturaleza vegetal, animal o simplemente cósmica, entablando interacciones afectivas y empaticas con pajaros, perros o vecinos de su comunidad.
    Report
  • Isa
    5.0 out of 5 stars A Journey Through Nature and Thought - LOVE IT
    Reviewed in Germany on February 17, 2025
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    I seriously love this book and keep coming back to it. Upstream is a quiet yet profound book, one that invites readers to slow down and appreciate the beauty in both language and landscape. It is a collection that will resonate with nature lovers, writers, and anyone who cherishes the simple yet profound act of paying attention.
  • L.P. Merisi
    5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful book
    Reviewed in Australia on July 17, 2023
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    I absolutely loved this book. It felt like Oliver was speaking directly to my soul with her beautiful words. She may be known for her poetry but I think it's her essays that are the true works of art.