On Being With Christa Tippett is supported in part by the John Templeton Foundation,

funding research and catalyzing conversations that inspire people with awe and wonder.

Learn about the latest discoveries in the science of hope and optimism,

forgiveness and free will at templeton.org.

The late poet Mary Oliver is among the most beloved writers of modern times.

Amidst the harshness of life,

she found redemption in the natural world and in beautiful precise language.

She sat with me for a rare, intimate conversation,

and we offer it up anew as nourishment for now.

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,

the world offers itself to your imagination.

Calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting,

over and over announcing your place in the family of things.

I'm Christa Tippett and this is on Being.

Mary Oliver was born in 1935 and grew up in a small town in Ohio.

In her later years, she spoke openly of profound abuse she suffered as a child.

She won the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award among her many honors

and published numerous collections of poetry and also some wonderful prose.

She lived and wrote for five decades on Cape Cod.

I met with her in Florida in 2015,

where she spent the last few years of her life.

The question I always start with,

...