"August"

by Mary Oliver

Detail of blackberries from http://www.paulnoll.com/Oregon/Canning/canning-blackberry-jam.html 

This poem first appeared in Oliver's collection American Primitive in 1983.  Click here for the text. It can also be found in The Norton Anthology of Modern and Contemporary Poetry, vol. 2, third edition (653-54). 

Discussion questions:

What do you find important about the title?

What is important about the final word of the poem?

What important similarities and differences do you find with Kinnell's "Blackberry Eating"?

Created by Stan Galloway 24 August 2005.  Last updated 24 August 2005.  Contact me at sgallowa@bridgewater.edu