mary oliver

The devotional, political poetry of Barbara Crooker

10 writers respond.

The poet’s essays are winsome and articulate, wide-ranging and intellectually rigorous.

The poet helped me to realize how little I knew about a life observed.

When arguments fail us, we turn to words of wonder.

For this end-of-the-year post, we asked our favorite historians and writers to share prayers from the past that could serve as guides for our present.