Dog Poems: An Anthology

by Various, Christopher Wait (Editor)

This handsome gift edition will appeal to anyone who is a dog lover, or a poet, or a poetry in short, just about anyone Our canine companions offer us friendship, love, understanding, all unadulterated. They are our joyful playmates and our furry shoulders to cry on, from the cradle to the grave.
       This book brings together some of the finest poems on dogs by a range of poets from Diogenes to Dorothy Parker, from Chaucer to Clarice Lispector. Gertrude Stein once said, “I am I because my little dog knows me,” and this collection proves with their wit, their wisdom, and their delights, these poems―and the dogs that inspired them―hold up a mirror to our better selves. 
       Whether exploding with the joy of a new puppy or mourning the loss of a tender lifelong friend, growling a critique at the more “civilized” habits of humans or simply spending a day in the life of a favorite pet, these poems offer something to dog lovers, poets, and poetry in short, just about everyone.

Genres: Poetry, Dogs, Animals

112 pages, Paperback

Published February 9, 2021

About the author

Various is the correct author for any book with multiple unknown authors, and is acceptable for books with multiple known authors, especially if not all are known or the list is very long (over 50).

If an editor is known, however, Various is not necessary. List the name of the editor as the primary author (with role "editor"). Contributing authors' names follow it.

Note: WorldCat is an excellent resource for finding author information and contents of anthologies.

Reviews

[Emily]

I don’t like poetry much, but I love dogs, and this was a birthday present so I had to read it.

Poems I liked:

“If Feeling isn’t in it,” by John Brehm
“O Pug!” by Stevie Smith
“The House-Dog’s Grave,” by Robinson Jeffers
“are you a visitor?” by Robert Lax

The rest didn’t give me any special feelings except irritation in a few cases.
Poetry lovers, don’t mind my bad attitude and go ahead and try it.

[Christy Broderick⁷]

I bought this book of poems back in April and I wanted to read it, but the timing wasn’t right just yet. I finally picked it up today and I was reminded of the happy and sad times experienced this year. It shared stories of friendship and of loss and were short enough to enjoy in snippets throughout the day. The love you share with a pet is beautiful and I’m glad to have had that with you, dear Adi. I hope you’ve been enjoying the sunshine and flowers this summer - I know you’d be outside every second you could on the deck, looking forward to laying by our sides while we ate meals or read books 💜

[Cate Tedford]

This was just perfect, as you could imagine🤍 The tears started at Mary Oliver’s “Every Dog’s Story,” and they didn’t stop! Dogs are so special ugh.

Thank you sweet Charlie for gifting me this book xoxo

From Delmore Schwartz’s “Dogs Are Shakespearean, Children Are Strangers”:

“Regard the child, regard the animal, Welcome strangers, but study daily things, Knowing that heaven and hell surround us, But this, this which we say before we're sorry, This which we live behind our unseen faces, Is neither dream, nor childhood, neither Myth, nor landscape, final, nor finished, For we are incomplete and know no future, And we are howling or dancing out our souls In beating syllables before the curtain:
We are Shakespearean, we are strangers.”

[Marcia Miller]

This slim volume offers brief poems about the wonders, mysteries, and quirks of dogs. Not nursery rhymes or sing-song verses for children, but works written by an array of mature poets across the years. As far back as Diogenes, Emily Dickinson, and Siegfried Sassoon to modern-day voices, such as Joy Harjo, Michael Ondaatje, and Linda Pastan, each poet reminds readers of why we love and admire dogs, how they teach us to live in the moment, and how they work their way into our hearts.

[Scott DuJardin]

Some I really liked, some not so much. In general, liked the front half better than the back half, which tended to be less and less actually about dogs.

If you want a book of poems about dogs - one that will invoke the full range of emotions - I highly recommend Mary Oliver's "Dog Stories" (one poem of which is in this volume).

[Eleanor]

2.5/5.

[Suertudon GV]

Fugaz ella, él, nosotros, todos fugaces

[Amanda]

Hate poetry, love dogs. A couple of these were cute and one made me full on cry. The rest were intentionally obtuse (as most poetry must be) or about dogs suffering/dying.

[Mike]

Favorites:
Yoko (Gunn)
If Feeling Isn't In it (Brehm)
Dog's Death (Updike)
Sheepdog Trials in Hyde Park (Day-Lewis)

[Brian Smith]

poems about dogs, yeah

[J !]

5 poems stood out to me and just made me miss my dogs even more.

[Matt]

Nice pocket collection of poems, good for a waiting room table, quick read.

[Brandon]

Cute collection, made me pet my pup a few times. Will thumb through it when I want a pick-me-up or am feeling particularly nostalgic for doggie themes

[Claudia Wrampelmeier]

"A Dog Has Died" by Pablo Neruda
"The House-Dog's Grave (Haig, an English Bulldog)" by Robinson Jeffers
So many tears