Dream Work, a collection of forty-five poems, follows both
chronologically and logically Mary Oliver's American Primitive, which
won her the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1983. The depth and diversity
of perceptual awareness -- so steadfast and radiant in American
Primitive -- continues in Dream Work. Additionally, she has turned her
attention in these poems to the solitary and difficult labors of the
spirit -- to accepting the truth about one's personal world, and to
valuing the triumphs while transcending the failures of human
relationships.