I've talked about my latest podcast obsession, which is Books Unbound, before. Two friends, who are quite a bit younger than me, talking about books. One of them reads poetry a lot more than me and she's always talking about how great Mary Oliver is, but as someone who is not a regular reader of poetry, this was not appealing to me. Until she talked about her poetry collection about dogs! I was ALL IN.
Dog Songs: Thirty-Five Songs and One Essay by Mary Oliver is a beautiful little book about a topic I feel so clearly drawn to that I think I might ask for my own copy for the holidays. If you can get your hands on a physical copy of this book, rather than an ebook, I highly recommend it because the illustrations are gorgeous.
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| Pages 4-5 |
You are greeted with this lovely image and a poem about a true fact. There is nothing better than a dog running free.
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| Page 27 |
If I understood half of what makes Hannah stop in her tracks during walks, I would be a much better person than I am.
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| Page 61 |
I will continue to say it forever and forever, but I hope to someday be as good a person as Hannah seems to think I am.
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| Page 85 |
Ha ha ha. Truer words have never been committed to paper and ink. Dogs are not perfect, but they are perfect friends.
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| Page 121 |
In case you can't tell, I loved everything about this. Huge thumbs up and a huge recommendation for all the dog lovers out there. 5/5 stars
I love Mary Oliver, and I love dogs! I am sure I'd love this collection, some of those passages are familiar and I think they are included in her Devotions.
ReplyDeleteOh, yes, I bet they are. I mean, what a lovely topic to muse on - dogs are the best.
DeleteAwww. I do love Mary Oliver, so it makes sense her musings on animals would be PERFECT. Especially love the "perfect moon" bit - how utterly lovely.
ReplyDeleteI thought every page of this book was brilliant. Maybe I'll start reading more poetry.
DeleteDogs are so fun. This book sounds like it is right up your alley. I bet Lad would enjoy it as he owns two dogs.
ReplyDeleteI really did think it was a perfect book. Just perfect.
DeleteThis sounds like a fabulous compilation. Maybe I need to get it for my kid. Also, I really hope this is the gateway poetry to get you into poems! Poetry can be really moving and affecting.
ReplyDeleteIf I can find more poetry collections about dogs, maybe I'll be all in. ;)
DeleteI love Mary Oliver. 🖤
ReplyDeleteHer material does seem to be quite accessible. Maybe I'll check out some of her non-dog stuff.
DeleteWhat a lovely collection... thanks for this, NGS! I wonder if you've seen Donna Haraway's essay on "Jim's Dog" http://archive.hemisphericinstitute.org/hemi/en/haraway
ReplyDeleteOh, I had never seen "Jim's Dog." What a lovely meditation on the short lives of our best friends.
DeleteThis looks like such a lovely book. I agree, I wish I were as good a person as my dogs think I am. ❤️
ReplyDeleteEven when I'm short with Hannah, she forgives me quickly. So many lessons to learn from our dog friends.
DeleteI can think of a few people who may appreciate this as gifts... non-poetry people, too, based on your experience. Thank you! (This is one of the M.O. publications I have not read. Yet.)
ReplyDeleteI do think it would be an excellent gift for the dog lover/reader people in your life.
DeleteI had no idea there was poetry about dogs.
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