Mary Oliver: Saved By the Beauty of the World

TICKETS

July 29 – Aug 1

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. (Sasha Waters, 2026, USA, 1:31, NR)

TALKBACK: Join us after the film on July 30th for a Talkback with Michele Battiste.
Michele Battiste is the 2026-28 Poet Laureate of Lafayette, Colorado. The author of four poetry collections, Michele has taught poetry workshops across the U.S. and right here in Boulder. Her latest book, The Elsewhere Oracle, is a finalist for the 2026 High Plains International Book Award in Poetry and was long-listed for the 2026 Julie Suk Prize. Here third book, Waiting for the Wreck to Burn (2019), won the Louise Bogan Award for Excellence in Poetry by Trio House Press. Michele received an MFA from Wichita State University and a masters of the arts degree in English from the University at Albany, and her writing career has been supported by several organizations, including the Jerome Foundation, the Blue Mountain Center, the Good Hart Artist Residency, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. She works for The Nature Conservancy in Colorado, raising funds to tackle climate change and protect nature.