"The Journey" was initially published in 2017 as a part of the final collection of poetry entitled Devotions: The Selected Poems of Mary Oliver. "The Journey" is one of Oliver's most widely read and well-respected works; it is a significant part of this collection and her work as a whole.
Broadly, "The Journey" is a poem about transformation. It is a poem that talks about how someone's life can change once they dare to dream and once they dare to act. It is a poem that invites readers to do some self-reflection in their life and asks them to consider if they truly know who they are.
For Oliver, "The Journey" was a significant departure from some of her previous work, which was focused primarily on nature and the natural world. But "The Journey" still explores a number of very similar themes to her nature-focused work - primarily related to humans and the human condition.
Mary Oliver was one of the most celebrated American poets of the 20th and 21st centuries. She was also one of America's most widely-read poets. In 1984, Oliver was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, perhaps the most coveted prize an author could win. Then, in 1992, Oliver won the prestigious National Book Award.
