Summary

The publication of New and Selected Poems: Volume One marked a significant point in Oliver’s career, both as a poet who had a significant enough body of work to warrant the first curated selection of it, and as a writer with a certain enough future for a Volume Two to be expected. The poems in this section are wide-raging, and there are more of them than there are in any other section of Devotions. Like with most sections of the book, most of the poems within it focus on the natural world, and, in particular, Oliver’s trademark use of a poetic portrait of a specific animal, plant, or landscape to tell a story about how she sees the world.

House of Light, Oliver’s 1990 book, includes some poems, like “Five A.M...