First, I am so thrilled to have three poems in ONE ART: a journal of poetry today. One Art is one of my favorite journals and each day they post new poem(s). It’s one of the first things I read in the morning. Thank you to editors Mark Danowsky and Louisa Schnaithmann. Here is a link to the poems: https://oneartpoetry.com/2026/07/26/three-poems-by-leeann-pickrell/
This past Tuesday I saw Mary Oliver: Saved By the Beauty of the World. It is a beautiful documentary that captures both Oliver’s essence and complexity. Although much of her poetry lives within the natural world, she didn’t want to be categorized as a nature poet, nor did she want to represent any particular group. She was her own person, her own poet. For me, she recognizes our humanity, our woundedness, and both the woundedness and beauty of the world. She calls to us to pay attention—that will save us. So simple and so hard to do—like her poetry, which can seem deceptively simple. To paraphrase Gaby Calvocoressi in the film, just try to write one of those poems.
I was also struck by what former US poet laureate Ada Limón explains, that “sometimes, when a poet gains the people, they lose the poets.” But who are we writing for if not the people? I would surmise there are many people who have read a Mary Oliver poem and that poem opened the door to other poems and other poets. So I will leave you today with a poem by Mary Oliver from House of Light, my first introduction to her. May this poem and this poet open the door to further poetic explorations.
My book Tsunami is being published by the awesome Unsolicited Press on August 11, and you can preorder it now. Preorders are important. Each order says this book matters as it makes its way into the world. You can order the book directly from Unsolicited Press or Bookshop.org. Gathering the Pieces of Days is still here too looking for readers if you haven’t read it yet.
There are links on my website as well.
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