When Death Comes

The hallmark of Mary Oliver’s work is her deep understanding of nature. In an article for The New Yorker, writer Rachel Syme heralds Oliver’s admiration of the British Romantic poets, particularly William Wordsworth, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and John Keats, all of whom wrote about nature and the Sublime. Oliver also admired how American poets like Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson used natural imagery, as well as the latter’s introspection and discussions of the sacred in everyday life. Toward the end of her life, Oliver mentioned that she enjoyed the spiritual poetry of the Persian poet Rumi, whom she read every day. Oliver emulated these poets’ engagement with nature and their devotion to the sacred in much of her work. Notably, Syme also highlights Oliver’s consistent ability to encourage readers to “[push] beyond […] emotional quarantine, even when you feel fear” (Syme, Rachel. “Mary Oliver Helped Us Stay Amazed.” The New Yorker, 2019). This idea of Engagement Over Fear is a prominent theme in “When Death Comes.”

Her clear diction and directness made her poetry highly accessible. From the 1980s onward, her poems’ most philosophical lines were often used in the self-help industry for the purpose of uplifting audiences. In 2007, she was considered the bestselling poet in the United States. Yet not everyone saw her work in such a positive light, as Syme notes that Oliver was often dismissed by critics because of her popularity, despite winning both the Pulitzer Prize in 1986 and the National Book Award for Poetry in 1992. Critics often mistook Oliver’s plain language and unadorned style as simplistic and shallow. In fact, during her lifetime, none of Oliver’s poetry collections were reviewed by The New York Times. However, even now, Oliver remains a highly popular poet and is widely anthologized.