produced by: Sasha Waters
directed by: Sasha Waters
rated: not rated
runtime: 91 min.
U.S. release date: July 3, 2026 (limited) and July 10, 2026 (wider)

“Mary Oliver: Saved By The Beauty of the World” is my introduction to the celebrated, award-winning poet, as it will be for many viewers. Those well-versed in poetry know who she is, but maybe they don’t know much about her beyond her prose. Serving as both producer and director, Sasha Waters invites us to either be introduced to this Pulitzer Prize-winning poet or offers up an opportunity to get to know the woman behind the words. She does this by giving Oliver’s voice, perspective, and outlook priority throughout the documentary. Like Oliver’s poems, this film offers viewers an opportunity to ponder the world around us, hopefully with more deliberation, allowing us to examine who we are and perhaps observe the natural world more closely.

The documentary opens with Stephen Colbert trying to recite one of Oliver’s best-known poems, “The Summer Day”, which ends with an inquiry that may be familiar: “Tell me, what is it you plan to do/with your one wild and precious life?” He stops there and is too choked up to continue. He’ll try again later, only to become overwhelmed again. That’s the impact Oliver’s poems have on people. That is, if they’ll allow it.

Waters presents Oliver as a working poet who incorporates equal parts discipline and creativity into her process. Her story is presented in a structure similar to a biography, yet, because much of Oliver’s poetry is influenced by the world around her, Waters gives viewers a chance to see what Oliver saw. By including never-before-seen personal photos and videos, as well as notebooks and correspondence from Oliver’s archive, Waters inserts moments throughout the documentary in which viewers hear recited poems over footage of what may have inspired Oliver. Just as Oliver’s work often gives us a chance to stop and see the world around us, Waters is doing the same by providing a way to hear Oliver’s words alongside images that perfectly match her prose.

As a child growing up in Maple Heights, Ohio, she spent most of her time outside, primarily because that’s what was available to her. Reflecting on her childhood and family dynamic, she referred to it as “very hard” and “dysfunctional”, respectively. Writing and writing about what was around her was something she could do to make sense of the world. Oliver began writing poetry at age 14, and around then, she couldn’t see herself doing anything else. She became a lover of the natural world and the dead poets, such as Thoreau, Shelley, Emerson, and Whitman.

When she turned 17, Oliver went to Austerlitz, New York, where she stayed at Steepletop, the home of Edna St. Vincent. She lived with Edna’s sister, Milly, for four years, helping her categorize and organize Edna’s papers. While she attended Vassar College and Ohio State University, she didn’t get a degree from either school. Instead, she continued working at Steepletop, helping with the estate and becoming Milly’s secretary.

In 1959, Oliver moved to Greenwich Village, yet she found it very uncomfortable to be removed from the natural world. She would continue visiting Steepletop, and during one of her visits, Molly Malone Cook was there, and she fell “head over heels” in love with her. Molly, a photographer from Provincetown, Massachusetts, was ten years her senior. Her presence in Mary’s life was one of stalwart support, giving the poet the belief that she was a great talent.

The couple then moved to Provincetown in June of 1964, which had been an artist colony for 150 years, because the Portuguese fishing community that had settled there had a very welcoming culture. They were happy to rent rooms, take people in, and they really weren’t too concerned about their sexual orientation.

It was the 60’s, so there was definitely a similar counterculture vibe that could eventually be found in much of the rest of the country. “There was a lot of drugs and alcohol and promiscuity, which was fine with me,” C. Steven Swanson, Provincetown Local/Storyteller. Filmmaker John Waters was a good friend of Oliver’s and had this to say about the atmosphere: “I hitchhiked to Provincetown. This was long ago. I had a girlfriend, and we hitchhiked to Provincetown because somebody just said it was a weird place. You’ll like it.” Waters shares, “It was. I did.”

In June 1964, Mary and Molly went to Provincetown for the summer and never returned. There were many other contemporaries who did the same thing, came to Provincetown for the summer, perhaps just for a visit, and wound up staying there for fifty years. The couple planted roots there and settled comfortably into the magical town. Molly, or “M” as she was referred to, was taking and printing photographs, while Mary would write poetry at the kitchen table. Mary’s creativity was always on, but she shares how she learned that adhering to a disciplined schedule helped secure a creative outlet. They both kept themselves busy in Provincetown, with Molly opening a gallery and Mary diligently writing.

Oliver’s first collection of poems, No Voyage, and Other Poems, was published in 1963, when she was 28. They kept at their respective arts, yet they were broke, with Mary taking various jobs around Provincetown, most of which involved typing. Then she was approached by Norman Mailer to type for him. The first of his novels she worked on was The Executioner’s Song, which was published in 1977. The following year, acclaimed writer Joyce Carol Oates reviewed Oliver’s “The Night Traveler” for The New Republic, and that changed everything. It not only praised Oliver’s work but also introduced her to a whole new audience, bringing unexpected, wider critical attention to her writing.

Her work was the result of her constant observation of the world around her, especially its beauty and wonder. Some of her poems prompted self-reflection, leading readers to consider the world through Oliver’s perspective. As time passed, she became a private person about her queerness and her time, preferring a walk in the woods or connecting with a dog rather than being seen in public or engaging with humans.

Somehow, her poems reached not only those who were already into poetry, but also those who might never otherwise describe themselves as poetry readers. By incorporating various audio clips of Oliver discussing her work process and life, Waters adds a personal element to her story. The roster of writers and poets Waters manages to get involved in the documentary is impressive as well: Major Jackson, Mark Doty, Ariana Reines, David Keplinger, Donika Kelly, Gabrielle Calvocoressi, Nick Flynn, and Frank Gaspar. Some of them were her contemporaries and knew her personally, while others studied her and were greatly influenced by her.

All of them have something to say about how Oliver’s work impacted them or what impact her work had on the world and the poet community. One American poet, Coleman Barks (who died earlier this year at age 88) shares, “When I read Mary’s poetry, I ascent”, and hearing recitations of Oliver’s poems in the documentary, by the likes of Oprah Winfrey, musicians Lucy Dacus and Jesse Welles, and actors Helena Bonham Carter and Steve Buscemi, definitely brings an understanding to Barks’ claim.

One of my favorite lines from Oliver in the documentary is when we hear her say, “People have forgotten to be ecstatic. You could get ecstatic over a box of matches. They’re kind of amazing, and it’s the balance with the rage, I suppose, or the emptiness. Emptiness is never gonna get us to get up and do anything…but, ecstacy might.” Much of what we hear from her comes from an exclusive 2010 interview conducted by Maria Shriver.

For viewers who allow themselves to be aligned with “Mary Oliver: Saved By The Beauty of the World”, there’s a chance to be reminded of the power of words, and, hopefully, a better appreciation for what happens when we intentionally stop, look, and listen.

RATING: ***1/2