The political nature of Mary Oliver's poems
Clip: 8/25/2026 | 2m 1sVideo has Closed Captions
Mary Oliver sought to call attention to the destruction of the earth in her work.
Mary Oliver sought to call attention to the destruction of the earth in her work. According to Oliver, "our enjoyment of the natural world is, in the long run, political."
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Support for American Masters is provided by AARP, The Rosalind P. Walter Foundation, Thea Petschek Iervolino Foundation, Burton P. and Judith B. Resnick Foundation, The Philip and Janice Levin Foundation,...
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The political nature of Mary Oliver's poems
Clip: 8/25/2026 | 2m 1sVideo has Closed Captions
Mary Oliver sought to call attention to the destruction of the earth in her work. According to Oliver, "our enjoyment of the natural world is, in the long run, political."
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship- You have said what a poem is not.
You say a poem is not the world.
- Oh, I'm changing my ideas about that.
I'm in trouble.
I went a little crazy at one reading a few months ago and started shouting that I wanted my poems to be inflammatory.
We're all better people for literature.
Meanwhile, the world burns.
Our enjoyment of the natural world is, in the long run, political.
(gentle piano music) - The poem that I think about the most is "Was It Necessary to Do It?"
And it's a poem about an ant being stepped on.
(gentle piano music) "I tell you, that ant is very alive.
Look at how he fusses at being stepped on."
The reason this poem matters so much to me is because so many people that I know know what it is to be the ant.
(gentle piano music) Whether it's people of color in this country, whether it's women, whether it's folks from the LGBTQIA+ community, whether it's disabled people.
And the assumption is that either the ant does not exist because it is not seen or that the ant is easy to kill.
(gentle piano music) And so what she does in the poem is says you can tell by how the ant fusses at being stepped on, which mean the ant is not dead, the ant is fighting for its life.
(gentle piano music) - [Mary] The thing I'm most worried about actually is what I consider a most serious ongoing devastation of the earth, which we need both spiritually and materially, and we're not dealing with it.
I worry about little children.
Are they going to know what the earth looked like?
(gentle piano music)
NewHow Mary Oliver met her life partner, Molly Malone Cook
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Mary Oliver met her life partner, photographer Molly Malone Cook, at Steepletop. (1m 27s)
NewMary Oliver had a troubled childhood
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Mary Oliver often hinted at the turmoil within her family, but sought to move past it. (2m 33s)
Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World
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Celebrate the life and career of Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Mary Oliver. (2m 37s)
NewSteve Buscemi reads Mary Oliver's poem, "The Fish"
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Listen to Steve Buscemi read Mary Oliver's poem "The Fish" in this excerpt from the film. (1m 19s)
Providing Support for PBS.org
Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship
Support for PBS provided by:
Support for American Masters is provided by AARP, The Rosalind P. Walter Foundation, Thea Petschek Iervolino Foundation, Burton P. and Judith B. Resnick Foundation, The Philip and Janice Levin Foundation,...