Blue Iris

An elegant collection of poetry and prose about flowers, trees, and plants of all sorts; a companion to Owls and Other Fantasies

Owls and Other Fantasies, Mary Oliver"s poems and essays about birds, was one of the best-selling volumes of poetry of 2003 and a Book Sense 76 selection. Blue Iris, Oliver"s new collection, is designed to be a companion to that volume. Elegantly illustrated, Blue Iris brings together ten new poems, two dozen of Mary Oliver"s favorite poems, and two previously unpublished essays. The poet considers roses, of course, and poppies and peonies; lilies and morning glories; the thick-bodied black oak and the fragrant white pine; the tall sunflower and the slender bean.

James Dickey has said of her, "Far beneath the surface-flash of linguistic effect, Mary Oliver works her quiet and mysterious spell. It is a true spell, unlike any other poet"s, the enchantment of the true maker." In Blue Iris, she has captured with breathtaking clarity the "true enchantment" and "mysterious spell" of flowers, weeds, plants, and trees and their magnetic hold on us.