God in Nature

This theme is stated explicitly in the first poem of the book, and then restated in different ways over the course of the collection. Indeed, this theme might be said to be the thesis of the collection as a whole. In Oliver’s last few books, the connection she draws between divinity and nature is largely non-specific in terms of its religious affiliation, and indeed, a handful of poems over the course of her life imply that she may have studied or been influenced by various religions. But books like Thirst also make it clear that the religious context to which Oliver alludes when she draws this connection is a Christian one.

The connection to Christianity becomes complicated when the final poem of the collection, “Morning In A New Land” is added to the conversation. The title alone implies a colonial point of view...