[Gary Keenan]

Jeanne,
Mary Oliver, like many prolific poets, has a somewhat uneven reputation. See Joan Houlihan's latest Boston Comment column on WebDelSol.com for the lesser view of her work. I happen to enjoy Mary Oliver rather more than Joan does. As to why Oliver is not more widely anthologized, perhaps she or her publishers have not granted permissions.

Or perhaps the problem is a general alienation from the natural world, which makes Oliver's poems sound dated and weakly imagined. Or that, as Houlihan suggests, Oliver is rewriting the same poem over and over, and editors have tired of that poem. Or that her best poems are too long for anthology format, or too uncompromising in subject matter and voice.

I like a good anthology but find they are rare, and far prefer to get a large dose from a single poet than samples from many, unless the anthology has a very strong focus, like ballads or Elizabethan lyrics, or a jolly editor like Palgrave.

Best regards,
Gary

Originally posted by Jeanne:
I'm new to this list and have been enjoying sampling some of your discussions.

I have several of Mary Oliver's books and have enjoyed her
rapturous nature poems. But I've noticed she's not always
included in poetry anthologies. Why is this do you think?

Jeanne