You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
--Mary Oliver, from 'Wild Geese'

A perfect introduction to Mary Oliver's poetry, this stunning collection features 26 nature poems and prose writings about the birds that played such an important role in the Pulitzer Prize winner's life.

Within these pages you will find hawks, hummingbirds, and herons; kingfishers, catbirds, and crows; swans, swallows and, of course, the snowy owl, among a dozen others - including ten poems that have never before been collected. She adds two beautifully crafted essays, 'Owls', selected for the Best American Essays series, and 'Bird', a new essay that will surely take its place among the classics of the genre.

In the words of the poet Stanley Kunitz, 'Mary Oliver's poetry is fine and deep; it reads like a blessing. Her special gift is to connect us with our sources in the natural world, its beauties and terrors and mysteries and consolations.'

For anyone who values poetry and essays, for anyone who cares about birds, Owls and Other Fantasies will be a treasured gift; for those who love both, it will be essential reading.