If poetry had a pop icon, Mary Oliver would be it. Celebrated best-selling poet, Pulitzer Prize-winner, lover of dogs and long walks in the woods, openly queer but intensely private, Oliver was America’s unlikely contemporary mystic, stalking the ponds and forests of Cape Cod for nearly fifty years in order to open herself – and her readers – to the known and unknowable world.  From a lonely childhood to literary fame, Oliver’s life was shaped by devotion to nature, paying attention, and the long journey toward learning to love and to be loved. Her poems inspire liberals and conservatives, atheists and believers, naturalists and urbanites, speaking directly to contemporary anxieties about attention, presence, and the human relationship with the natural world – issues that feel especially pressing in an era of climate crisis, digital distraction, and social fragmentation.

Featuring interviews with her close friends, including John Waters; never-before-seen personal photos, notebooks, and correspondence from her archive; and recitations of her work by Stephen Colbert, Lucy Dacus, Steve Buscemi, and Oprah Winfrey, Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World considers the poet’s long lifetime of work in context, capturing the uniqueness of her world and the natural beauty that inspired her.

“An entertaining bio-doc that puts due emphasis on Oliver's writing, in all its elegant and empathetic simplicity... makes an arresting case for her work and gives us a vivid look at her world.” – The Wall Street Journal

“Waters's film seeks to explain why Oliver's poetry means so much to so many people... making space for audiences to have their own experiences with her poems. Tidbits of these have become almost aphoristic, but the fuller context a film like this brings can result in more appreciation, for new readers and longtime fans alike.” – The New York Times

“A rare, intimate look at the famously private poet, built from archival material, voice reading and reflections from writers and admirers. A quiet immersion into a life shaped by attention, solitude and the natural world.” – Inside of Knoxville