Biography
Mary Jane Oliver (born September 10, 1935), commonly known as Mary Oliver, is a famous American poet and writer.
She is known for winning the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize. Her works are inspired and greatly influenced by nature.
Mary Oliver is also known for her lifelong passion for solitary walks in nature. Mary Jane was also recognized as the best-selling poet in the United States in 2007. Her works are unparalleled and inspiring.
American poet
Mary Oliver |
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 Mary Oliver: History ‧ Biography ‧ Photos |
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| Wiki Events & About Data | |
| Full name: | Mary Jane Oliver |
| Stage name: | Mary Oliver |
| Born: | September 10, 1935 (age 83) |
| Place of birth: | Maple Heights, Ohio, United States |
| Deceased: | January 17, 2019, Hobe Sound, Florida, USA |
| Nationality: | American |
| Height: | Do not have |
| Parents: | Edward William, Helen MV Oliver |
| Siblings: | Do not have |
| Husband • Spouse: | Molly Malone cooking |
| Boyfriend • Partner: | Molly Malone cooking |
| The children: | Do not have |
| Job: | Author • Poet |
| Net worth: | 10 million US dollars |
Early life and education
Mary Jane Oliver was born on September 10, 1935, in Maple Height, Ohio, United States. She was the daughter of Edward Williams, a social studies teacher; her father was also a sports coach at several public schools in Maple Height. Her mother’s name was Helen MV Oliver.
Growing up was quite difficult for her. In an interview with Maria Shriver, an American journalist, in 2011, Mary Oliver described her family as dysfunctional. She also revealed some dark details about her childhood. According to her, she was abused and molested by a close relative.
As a result of the abuse, Mary Oliver recalled that she had constant nightmares and was unable to sleep for years. She reportedly began writing poetry at the age of 14, and at the age of 17, she visited Edna St. Vincent Millay, a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, at her home in New York.
Mary Oliver befriended Norma Millay, the late poet’s sister. Oliver and Norma Millay spent the next six to seven years at the estate sorting through Edna St. Vincent Millay’s papers.
Mary Oliver completed her education at a local high school in Maple Heights. At age 15, she enrolled in the Interlochen National Music Camp in Michigan, now known as the Interlochen Arts Camp, where she joined the percussion ensemble of the National High School Orchestra.
At age 20, Mary Oliver enrolled in Ohio State University and Vassar College in the mid-1950s but received no degrees from either university.
Personal life
Mary Oliver met her first partner, who would later become her husband, when she visited Austerlitz in her mid-20s. She met Molly Malone Cook, a photographer, and they were married for forty years before his death.
According to an excerpt from Our World, a book by her late husband, the photographs and diaries were compiled by Mary Oliver after her husband’s death, she wrote, “I take a look [at Cook] and fall, hook and roll“ .
Molly Malone Cook was Mary Oliver’s agent. They primarily resided in Provincetown, Massachusetts, where they lived until Molly Malone Cook’s death in 2005, and Mary Oliver continued to live there until moving to Florida.
Mary Oliver is very private about her personal life. She rarely talks about her family life and children.
Cause of death
Mary Oliver was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2012 at the age of 77. However, she received treatment and was declared healthy.
She is believed to have died in 2019 at the age of 83 after being diagnosed with lymphoma.
Career
Mary Oliver worked as a secretary at Edna St. Vincent Millay’s “Steepletop Estate” alongside Norma Millay, the sister of the legendary and award-winning powerhouse Edna St. Vincent Millay. Her first collection of poems, No Voyage and Other Poems, was published when she was 28. In the early 1980s, she taught at Case Western Reserve University.
This was her fifth collection of poems, which she titled American Primitive, which won her the Pulitzer Prize in 1984. Mary Oliver also served as Poet-in-Residence at Bucknell University (1986). She then moved to Bennington, Vermont, where she held the Catharine Osgood Foster Professorship for Teaching Excellence at Bennington College until 2001.
In the early 1990s, Mary Oliver won the Christopher Award and the LL Winship/PEN New England Award for her 1990 work of poetry titled House of Light. She also won the National Book Award in 1992 for her New and Selected Poems.
Net worth
According to sources, Mary Oliver had an estimated net worth of $10 million before her death.
She earned her wealth from her career as a poet alone. She was also considered the best-selling poet in the US in 2007.
Verse
- “Wild Geese” You don’t have to be good.
- Swan
- Don’t hesitate
- Shark
- When Death Comes
- Starlings in winter
- Summer day
- Pray
