Oxygen

Written in the latter half of her career, American poet Mary Oliver’s “Oxygen” exhibits her shift towards writing more directly about the human world rather than her earlier, more eco-centric work. Oliver, who won the Pulitzer Prize in 1983, lived from 1935 to 2019. Oliver’s writing draws from the 19th Century Romantic movement while capturing emerging environmentalism awareness in the late 20th Century.

The New Yorker magazine first published “Oxygen” in its October 10, 2005 issue. The free-verse poem’s release came two months after Oliver’s life partner Molly Malone Cook passed away from lung cancer. “Oxygen” reflects upon the experience of taking care of a dying loved one. While capturing one moment in a couple’s life, the poem is not narrative and lacks a formal conclusion. “Oxygen” uses the lyric mode, highlighting the speaker’s unique worldview and emotions. As with many of Oliver’s poems, “Oxygen” lauds interdependence, paying attention to the moment, and understanding humanity as a part of nature. The poem also defines love as a unity of experience and routine.

Poet Biography

American poet Mary Jane Oliver was born in Maple Heights, Ohio on September 10, 1935. She wrote about and in the woods from an early age.