In Memoriam, Faculty News

Remembering Mary Oliver

The ¿­ÐýÃŹÙÍø College community celebrates the legacy of Mary Oliver, former faculty member and prizewinning poet.

Mary Oliver

Mary Oliver, 83, was a gifted poet whose work was awarded both the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize. She was a faculty member at ¿­ÐýÃŹÙÍø College from 1996-2001.

The poetic landscape is forever changed by Mary Oliver’s unmatched sense of wonder and reverence for the natural world. As a faculty member at ¿­ÐýÃŹÙÍø College, she was known to walk the campus grounds at all hours with her dog, observing rural Vermont in all its splendor. She was a natural fit for these wild hills.

Oliver was a humble, generous, and patient teacher. She had an ecstatic appreciation for the earth and its animals. A prolific writer to the very end, she inspired students with her unwavering discipline and passion for her craft.

Mary Oliver left an indelible mark on ¿­ÐýÃŹÙ꿉۪s literary history, and we are forever grateful to have shared her with the world.

 

 Summer Brennan '01 on Oliver in The Paris Review: "Passing Mary Oliver at Dawn."

alumna Emily Popek's "Mary Oliver was My Teacher" in Electric Lit.