Every Sound Is Not a Wolf

by Alberto Ríos

From backyard to Sonoran desert, Every Sound is Not a Wolf explores the tender connection between people, place, and the natural world.


Alberto Ríos’ Every Sound is Not a Wolf evokes and awakens the senses—the smell of herbs, “the geckos at their mysterious work.” Even silence grows loud and expansive in its stillness. Told entirely in couplets, and with remarkable lucidity, Ríos balances the harmonies and disharmonies found throughout all of existence—between people and the natural world, between life and death, between spirit and body, between borders real and imagined. What does it mean for a body to house two languages? And what is an imaginary line between countries? From backyard to Sonoran desert, from mining town to river, this collection journeys the human experience, through grief and joy, tuned to the “small buzzing of a live world.” Ríos asks us to feel the connective electric pulse between all things, to find newness, musicality, and beauty in the mundane. That the world keeps moving forward, this is miracle enough.

Genres: Poetry

120 pages, Paperback

Published April 8, 2025

Reviews

[Luis Osuna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Could not get into this collection at all.
I kept trying really hard, but this cup(let) of tea is just not for me.

Honestly, I think the titles of the poems were so much cooler and mysterious than the poetry itself. And I guess that goes for title of the book itself and the cover photo. I was hoping to read some fresh or deep takes on the Sonoran desert, but the desert poetry just did not hit at all.

I hate to say I actually caught myself cringing at the end of many of the poems...

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This latest collection of poems by Alberto Rios is a superb blend of wistful, nostalgic memories and impressions with a clarity of reality. The write up on the back cover says it better than I can. I can only feel my senses awake with his bringing the desert and all its beauty and creatures back to me, another Arizonan looking back. But his poems about mining towns, the border, languages spoken and unspoken interweave with grief and longing, self-examination and joy. Some poems are my favorites, but all together create a collection to read and reread - and to hope for more by Alberto Rios.

[Maisy Deanie Shrimp · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit more sentimental than I typically prefer but still really resonated. Particularly, the way Rios illustrates grief- not just the pain, but the sentimentality you want to keep around- really stuck with me.
"Over There" was my personal favorite.

[Jiro Dreams of Suchy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I prefer the thoughts of poets like this- focus on memories (especially small and seemingly unimportant), focus on the world he lives in, the moments we pass through and can enjoy. I read each poem trying to create a moving image. The language is clear and precise, not a word out of place.

[Shawn Aebi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harkens to nature to hear the calling. In Service to Service gracefully reminds us of our duty to others, followed directly by Taking Our Olympic Measure (Poetry an Olympic sport?). But it is the interactions with birds which center the storytelling here.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m very glad I read this book. I love these poems. The poet writes using nature, our lives, the world, as the tools of telling us a way of touching the world, or making sense of it, of entering and noticing the mystery of it. I loved this collection.

[Lianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brimming with gentle, quiet earnestness that beckons the reader into intimate observation. So so so so good.

[Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read for a poetry graduate course. Really enjoyed and will look at the author’s other works!

[Michaela · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the poem about walking behind a woman who reminded him of his mother.