Lent with Mary Oliver: Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.

I have been rummaging through my books and bookmarked websites thinking about whether I wanted to do anything of substance for Lent this year. As I walked into church this morning, Carolyn Padgett was handing out The Poetry of Lent, A Lenten Companion to Mary Oliver's Devotions. Joy, joy! The idea had Lin Veasey and Chelsea Thornton written all over it, and sure enough, they are as usual the thoughtful, organized ones who got everything ordered, compiled, and distributed.

I am a total dunce when it comes to poetry, and not for lack of trying. I get impatient when I try to read it, and can't focus on much of anything beyond Shel Silverstein. (Although I did read a lot of him when my girls were young.) I've asked for suggestions from literary people. I even took a creative writing class and thought maybe I could approach it backwards by writing it first and then understanding it later. That didn't work. There is one exception to this sad, sad story.... Mary Oliver.

When I read Mary Oliver's poems, I think, Yes!, that's exactly what I think. In fact, I sometimes wonder how it's possible that I didn't write it first. Could it be that she's the poet for dunces? I mean that in the most complimentary way possible. I sometimes feel that my strength as a math professor has always been that I can talk about math to people who aren't quantitative thinkers. In fact, I've frequently gotten feedback to that effect. "This is the most verbal math class I've ever taken. I loved it!" and "This is the most verbal math class I've ever taken. I hated it!" I can't ever remember getting, "I was awed by the theoretical brilliance of Dr. Case." That's not my thing. But it is satisfying to hear that someone appreciates a mathematical concept in a new way for the first time.

Judging by the wild popularity of Oliver's poetry, she's probably had the same effect on millions of other readers that she has on me. She, however, is also admired by people who actually know something about poetry. And she loves dogs. Can't wait to spend Lent with her.