Earlier this month, poet Mary Oliver — who won both the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize, and was for many years based in Provincetown, Mass., — died at the age of 83.

In Oliver’s poetry, communion with nature was often a catalyst for learning powerful truths or finding meaning in life, Blanco explained.

“Every poet, usually there’s something early in their lives that begins to inform their entire body of work, a kind of obsession. For her, it was to go out in the woods and build huts and write poetry. It was a way of escape, but also a way of saving herself, I think,” Blanco said.

This episode of “Village Voice” aired on WGBH Boston Public Radio on February 4, 2019.