Meg Waite Clayton

Author of the international bestsellers The Postmistress of Paris, The Last Train to London, and 7 other novels

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Your One Wild and Precious Life

Mary_Oliver_New_and_Selected_PoemsOn this last day of National Poetry Month, I’m keeping in mind two quotes from Mary Oliver. The first comes from her National Book Award acceptance speech:

Poetry happens because of life, and poetry happens because of language and poetry happens because of other poets

The other comes from a poem in New and Selected Poems, for which she won the National Book Award. The poem is titled “The Summer Day”:

Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

I hope the answer includes reading more poetry. – Meg

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Meg Waite Clayton


Meg Waite Clayton is the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of nine novels, including the forthcoming TYPEWRITER BEACH (Harper, July 1, 2025), the Good Morning America Buzz pick and New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice THE POSTMISTRESS OF PARIS, the National Jewish Book Award finalist THE LAST TRAIN TO LONDON, the Langum-Prize honored THE RACE FOR PARIS, and THE WEDNESDAY SISTERS, one of Entertainment Weekly’s 25 Essential Best Friend Novels of all time. Her novels have been published in 23 languages. She has also written more than 100 pieces for major newspapers, magazines, and public radio, mentors in the OpEd Project, and is a member of the National Book Critics Circle and the California bar. megwaiteclayton.com