Unleashed: Poems by Writers' Dogs

by Amy Hempel (Editor), Jim Shepard (Editor)

The dogs of America's most respected writers and thinkers have miraculously found their voices, and the exciting list of contributors includes William Wegman, Thom Gunn, Cynthia Heimel, John Irving, Rick Bass, Susan Minot, Edward Albee, and many others. Along with their verses, each author also provides a photograph or drawing of his or her bardic beast.

Genres: Poetry, Dogs, Animals, Nonfiction

175 pages, Hardcover

First published May 23, 1995

About the author

Amy Hempel is an American short story writer, journalist, and university professor at Brooklyn College. Hempel was a former student of Gordon Lish, who eventually helped her publish her first collection of short stories. Hempel has been published in Harper's, Vanity Fair, GQ, and Bomb. She is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, as well as the Ambassador Book Award in 2007, the Rea Award for the Short Story in 2008, and the Pen/Malamud Award for short fiction in 2009.

Reviews

[Stephen Wallace · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sorry, I found the poems boring or just not good. I will include two poems in my review. One that had similar elements of Rudyard Kipling's 'If' that has each stanza start strong but limp out and another that was powerfully poignant but so sad in it's message that I can't say I 'enjoyed it.

Lily Luck
Sniff
I
If you can sniff out danger and keep barking When those around you seem to doubt the cause
And all they find to do is keep remarking
Don’t track up the carpet with your paws!
If you can lick the hand of Him who needs you
and realize it’s really no mistake
when that hand that somehow failed to feed you
Feeds itself the whole dam sirloin steak

II
If you can hold your water when about you
Dogs are losing theirs and He is blaming it on you
If you can coolly live with “sit” as well as “git”
And rush to entertain Him when He dons his mitt
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting
while He pursues a poker hand or other Dada
Like watching TV football or pretending to be mating
Testing to the limit our fortune and blada

lll
If you keep from whining when Master lets it slip
You're not to be included on the hunting trip
or when Their own behavior civility ignores
And uncomprehendingly They prefer their company to yours
If you can keep your calm, not lose your noodle
At passing Pekes or mincing sweatered Poodles
If stoically you do not show you’re stricken
When once again They eye an orphan kitten

IV
ff you can uncomplaining spend the day
In solitude and when it ends
Greet those who finally return to play
As long lost friends
And if in digging, without damage to a single rose
You find your long lost bone on which to sup
You’ll have acquired a hound’s discerning nose
And—what is more—you'll be a dog, my pup!
—Duncan Tuck

Ben Sonnenberg
Harry 1981-1992 d. March 13
Stay

I was a bad dog and didn’t obey
Any command, until today.
—Harry

There was also another poem I liked a line or two out of. This was the line:

Life isn’t meaningless because there’s food.
Consider kibble: its smell, its taste, its mood.

Maybe it is me so interested in others opinion.

[J & J · Rating 3 out of 5]

So hard to read the sad ones...

[Laura Leaney · Rating 4 out of 5]

So insightful! Sample poem by Karen Shepard (owner of Labrador Retriever named Birch):

You gonna eat that?
You gonna eat that?
You gonna eat that?


I'll eat that.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Does for poetry what "Marley and Me" did for memoir. Endearing, heart warming and poignant, I laughed until I cried and cried until I cried some more. I'd recommend it to any dog lover. Have a tissue box handy for the last section!

[Kristy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew some of the dogs who wrote these--

[Whitney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of these made me emotional, and I loved the twist on the classics like If by Rudyard Kipling and the Odyssey. It's definitely a must-read for any dog parent or lover.

[Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really looking forward to reading this book, but it really fell flat for me in the expressiveness and emotional impact department. For someone who loves dogs as much as I do, that shows you how flat this book is, if I couldn't personally be moved by the poems. There were only three poems in the whole collection that made me smile or sigh with contentment just a little bit.

The idea behind this book was brilliant, but the execution of it, not so brilliant.

[Molly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Apparently, many writers' dogs like to write in patterns, particularly with rhyme and in villanelle form. There were more opportunities, I believe, that weren't quite taken--the funny was not strong (funny is hard), a little too unspecific but still familiar. Perhaps this book was more charming in concept, in the introduction, than in actuality.

Favorites were the poems by Alicia Munoz and (of course) Maxine Kumin.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

What can I say? I like poems about dogs. Or by dogs. Beaglesongs.

[Corey]

Arthur Miller and John Irving write dog poetry? How have I not hear about this until now?

[Alejandro Curchitser · Rating 5 out of 5]

…the way everything, each day, adds up to change your life, to steer it, turn it.
Dogs know this.
The best thing you can do about this is to take long naps and let it, the decay of life,
go on past you, as if uninterested in you— though it is always interested.
I can tell by the way he looks at us sometimes
That he wants us to be young again;
That he wants to believe it is all in our minds, that we have gotten lazy:
that we have not paid close enough attention; that we have wasted time on too many naps and that it is all going by so fast, now, but the truth is we're just getting old. And tired.
Our coats aren't as glossy as they were.
We're lumpier with gristle, now, not muscle.
We snore.
- Jasper (Stephen Dobyns)


——

He is six foot one. I am one foot high.
Don't ever let him tread on me.
Though small, I claim my space and like you snug.
(It's tough sharing a bed with me.)
My name is Samson. Yours is Paschen.
So keep your name and stay unwed with me.
- Sam (Elise Paschen)


——

I fear there's something missing.
I used to be complete.
Now I find I am indifferent
When a bitch walks by in heat.

Perhaps they've made me human.
It's how humans seem to me. Seeking, looking, searching
For what can never be.
- Snowball (Mary Morris)


——

She loves me best in all the whole world. Better than big black Doc, he protects us, thinks he's big, hah
Better than sofa-boy Homer with his Harrod's snooty collar, oh
please spare me.
Better than Mike and Digby the kissy thugs who scrabble at her face, so unseemly, so lacking in my perfect regal dignity
(Okay so I eat eat poop sometimes, but delicately with panache),
Better than that pretender, that backyard bred Josie With her submissive wiggle who's she kidding
Josie pushes me off my pillow at night Josie must die,
My human is mine, for I am descended from Marie Antoinettes Mimi.
- Sally (Cynthia Heimel)

[Chloe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this collection! I added it to my personal library back in high school and found the idea so enticing but I finally committed to sitting down with it and I felt I got so much out of the range of poetry forms and voices that I feel committed to, not only having a go at my own villanelle (perhaps in Buddy's voice if I can call upon his creative conscious with so many miles between us), but also reading as many poetry collections as I can next year to keep this explorative spirit alive in my own poetry!

[Bonnie Schroeder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hard to rate a book of poetry, since I don’t read it often, but this little volume contained some touching, funny, and philosophical entries “written by” all sorts of dogs—some of which sounded suspiciously like my own. Writers both famous and unknown (to me, at least) shared poems starring their dogs, and this was a very enjoyable read.

[M.J. Prest · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is so clever and sweet. Several of the poets were my professors in college, and several others were playwrights and authors I studied. There’s something for every dog lover in this anthology, no matter if you are suffering through a new puppy or are mourning your best friend.

[Estelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even someone like me, who has never owned a dog, will find humor and truth in this collection of poems obviously lovingly penned in their dogs' own voice by their writer owners.

[Andy Pronti · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are quite a few great poems in this collection that describe my pup perfectly

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of the poems were heartwarming. Some were sad. Some made me laugh out loud. 5 stars for making me feel all of that in a very short time. (disclaimer: I am a dog person)

[Book2Dragon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable, and really like Amy.

[Rogue Male · Rating 4 out of 5]

8/10 Arf!

[Mg Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have tissues handy.

It's a truly beautiful homage to our best friends. I heard one poem read from the book and went immediately and bought the book.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Who knew so many Poets wrote from their dog's POV. If you've never understood dog lovers, this will give some insight.

[Sari Fordham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing concept! The photos are a real bonus. As is true in all collections, some poems were better than others. Ending with death poems, though, was hard.

[Xine Segalas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am not one to gravitate toward reading a lot of poetry, but I love dogs and was intrigued by what might be on their minds. Unleashed: Poems by Writers Dogs quickly became my favorite book of poetry for over two decades. I highly recommend this humorous and heartwarming poetry collection dedicated to our best friend, the dog.

[Luke · Rating 3 out of 5]

I mainly wanted to read this for Amy Hempel's poem (also Denis Johnson), and even though hers was the shortest poem in the entire collection the picture of her sharing an ice cream cone with her dog was worth it alone. My 3 standouts were Drunk Dog by Erin McGraw, A War Poem by Jennifer Allen, and my personal favorite The Odyssey by Rick Bass. I can honestly say this is the best collection of dog poetry I've ever read.

[Carrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

a wonderful collection of poems/stories written by dogs (dog owners). my favorite is about a large poodle named bob barker who ate a brownie of his owners. woops, brownie was made with lsd and his story will have you laughing as he trips blissed out talking about food food food and how much he loves his master.

[Koeeoaddi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wuff! I really wanted to love this book. I did smile a few times, but didn't find the stand out poems I expected and many of the poems just fell flat. Worse still, the Dunn poem that I pinned my hopes on was down right depressing. Not bad -- I don't think he could write a bad poem -- but bleak. Oh well...

[Kellie · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting book of poetry, "written" by the writer's dogs. I liked a few, disliked quite a few, skipped one, and the rest just weren't that memorable.

My favorites were Homer's Odyssey and this one by Karen Shepard, because my dog could have written it!

You gonna eat that?
You gonna eat that?
You gonna eat that?

I'll eat that.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. If you want unabashed sentimentality, you probably won't like it. But if you like poetry, and you want to read what writers trying to imagine dearly loved dogs writing poetry, you will like this. The poems are (almost all ) from the dog's point of view.

[Ruth · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed in this book, after the glowing reviews I'd read. It's been long enough now that I don't remember why it didn't resonate with me.

R

[Maureen · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Life is never meaningless/Because there's always food. Consider kibble,/its taste, its smell, its mood."