Sophia Bush Narrates New Mary Oliver Audiobook: 'Poetry Is So Important'

As an "enormous Mary Oliver fan," Sophia Bush is celebrating National Poetry Month by narrating the new audiobook Wild and Precious: A Celebration of Mary Oliver

Sophia Bush is bringing words to life. In honor of National Poetry Month, the 40-year-old actress and activist paired up with Pushkin Industries to create Wild and Precious: A Celebration of Mary Oliver, an original audio collection featuring readings, personal stories and reflections of Mary Oliver's work. Along with Bush, who narrates the audiobook, there are appearances by familiar voices such as Rainn Wilson and Busy Philipps.

"What attracted me to the project, honestly, is just being such an enormous Mary Oliver fan," Bush tells PEOPLE. She continues, "Her poetry has been incredibly important for me in my life as an artist and a creative. I am just so moved by her work."

Born in 1935, Oliver won both a Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award for her poetry, which often focused on the natural world. She was especially inspired by the walks she took in her adopted hometown of Provincetown, Mass. Oliver died in 2019 of lymphoma, leaving behind more than 25 books, most of them collections of her poems. Her final book, Devotions: The Selected Poems of Mary Oliver, was selected by Oprah's Book Club as one of Oprah's "Books That Help Me Through."

Bush has had a passion for poetry from a young age. "I really got into poetry in school, in high school," the One Tree Hill star says. She adds, "I went to an all-girls school in Pasadena called Westridge that had a really robust literature department. I just really fell in love with writing, in general, and studying the writing of others there. I think that's really where poetry became a pillar for me."

As someone who studied journalism for part of her life, Bush understands the importance of words, especially when it comes to poetry. "I think poetry is so important because it's really such a space of creativity that's not as regimented as other modalities of writing," the actress says. She continues, "When you dive into it, [poetry] really invokes intersection and dreaming and a greater capacity for thought. Perhaps that is the reason I love Mary so much."

When it comes to Oliver's work, Bush considers herself a fan: "I often wake up and sit down with a cup of coffee and one of Mary's books and give myself a moment in the morningbefore I start my day," the John Tucker Must Die star tells PEOPLE.

It is hard for Bush to say which of Oliver's poems is her favorite. "It really changes depending on the season that I'm in or depending on what I'm looking for," the actress says. She continues, "that's part of why Mary's work touches people in the way that it does. You can go to her for a meditation on life. You can go to her to put words to grief that you haven't been able to previously. You can go to her for spirituality. I think they all... a collection of favorites, anyway, stand out for different reasons and in different seasons."

As a long-time fan of Oliver, Bush holds a memory of one poem dearly. "Mary did this beautiful interview with one of my favorite podcast hosts, Krista Tippett, two or three years before she passed away," the Chicago P.D. actress says. "Hearing Mary's voice read 'Wild Geese' is pretty profound. Now that she's no longer with us, it's one of the things I really enjoy going back to."

Now that the audiobook is on sale through Pushkin Industries, Bush has announced that she will be joining the production 2:22 A Ghost Story which opens on May 14th in London. Additionally, Bush has announced that Junction, "our film about the opioid epidemic," will be at the Cannes Film Festival this May. "It's just wonderful. We're very excited."

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