The Pulitzer Prize winning poet Mary Oliver died in 2019. She was best known for her poetry that reflected her love of the natural world and her famous poem 'Wild Geese' is said to have literally saved people's lives with its message of hope and redemption. An abusive childhood led the young Mary to escape into the woods near her home in Ohio where she discovered a love of nature that was to sustain her throughout her life. She found love with the photographer Molly Malone Cook and they lived happily for many years in Provincetown Massachusetts. Her life and work are greatly admired by many including this week's guest the actor Niamh Cusack and Mary's friend Baroness Helena Kennedy.
Producer: Maggie Ayre
Extracts of Mary Oliver from The Onbeing Project with Krista Tippett and from a conversation with Coleman Barks for the Lannan Foundation
Mark Steel on Charlie Chaplin
Tim Smit on Humphrey Jennings
Russell Kane on Evelyn Waugh
Samira Ahmed on Laura Ingalls Wilder
Christina Lamb on Benazir Bhutto
Helen Glover on Alison Hargreaves
Mark Carwardine on Douglas Adams
Cherie Blair on Dame Rose Heilbron
Greg Jenner on Gene Kelly
Patricia Greene on Bess of Hardwick
Simon Evans on JS Mill
Erica Wagner on Roald Amundsen
Hanif Kureishi on David Bowie
Barbara Stocking on Catherine the Great
Suzy Klein on Hedy Lamarr
Mica Paris on Josephine Baker
Simon Callow on Orson Welles
Ayesha Hazarika on Jayaben Desai
Tej Lalvani on Richard Feynman
Laura Serrant on Audre Lorde
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Modern West
Global News Podcast
The Infinite Monkey Cage
Friday Night Comedy from BBC Radio 4
You’re Dead to Me
Elis James and John Robins