This story is part of True/False Conversations, a series of in-depth interviews with the filmmakers of this year’s True/False Film Fest. Find the full series here.
Sasha Waters brings a Pulitzer Prize winning poet back to vivid life in Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World, premiering at True/False this year. The film offers an intimate look at the poet’s somewhat-elusive private life and two main loves, Molly and Anne, while centering her poetry, including Waters' favorite, “When Death Comes." She shared with KBIA’s Kiana Fernandes. Here's an excerpt from their conversation.
Sasha Waters [Reading from "When Death Comes"]:
"When death comes like the measle-pox; when death comes like an iceberg between the shoulder blades, I want to step through the door full of curiosity, wondering: what is it going to be like, that cottage of darkness?"
Kiana Fernandes: One thing that I was kind of thinking about throughout the film is how reading dead poets — kind of in the way Mary Oliver grew up doing — is, in some ways, like a spiritual resurrection of that person. And I feel like, for me, watching documentaries about those who have passed is kind of the same thing. So, how did you come to the decision to resurrect Mary Oliver for this film?
Waters: You know, one thing that I tried to do was always to return to the poems, because I think that’s what she wanted. Like, for example, with her publishers she says things like, “Don’t sell me as this celebrity” — this is after she’s already become quite successful — “Sell the book.”
I definitely hope people want to read Mary Oliver, and then just also want to live more like Mary Oliver.Sasha Waters
Fernandes: How did you decide which poems to connect to the different, kind of, chapters of her life and of the film?
Waters: There were some poems that are sort of the greatest hits, and then there are others. So, “Don’t Hesitate” is used in the section on Molly because it’s about falling in love. But that poem was actually written when she was 70, when she was falling in love with Anne. Early on, I might have imagined, “Oh, we’ll use poems chronologically.” But I think the thematics kind of overrode that. And then, of course, there was also just talking to people, and people wanted to talk about a poem. So, Jason Reynolds brings up this poem, “Was it Necessary to Do It?” which is a very short, two-line poem about an ant.
So, there are certain poems that we’re planning, and people are reading them off a teleprompter, right? So, like, Steve Buscemi is reading “The Fish.” And then other things are more impromptu — Stephen Colbert reading off his phone, or someone picking up a book and reading it. That accounts for the different approaches.
Fernandes: What are your hopes for how this film will be received?
Waters: I definitely hope people want to read Mary Oliver, and then just also want to live more like Mary Oliver. Like, go for a long walk in the woods and really connect with nature and think about all of its restorative powers. And think about sitting down and writing a poem, or — writing something is also a way that we can kind of connect with our own personal nature. So, I feel like, if it inspires that in people as well, that would be great.
Fernandes: Is there anything that you’ve taken on in your life from putting this film together, from getting to know her?
Waters: She knew who she was. She knew what she was here to do. And I think, that, I find so inspiring — her self-confidence. You know, I think this idea of really, like, yes, she was celebrated at the end of her life, and she enjoyed those accolades, but she didn’t really need them.
[Reading from "When Death Comes"]:
"When it's over, I don't want to wonder if I have made of my life something particular, and real. I don't want to find myself sighing and frightened, or full of argument. I don't want to end up simply having visited this world."
