Dog Songs

Dog Songs is a collection of poems about the dogs in Mary Oliver's life. It gathers some of her most cherished dog poems alongside new ones. Together they form a portrait of her bond with the animals who walked with her each day, kept her home warm and fed her work.

The poems move between love and laughter on one side and heartbreak and grief on the other. Percy, a dog Oliver loved dearly, appears here as an old friend, and the reader meets other dogs too.

Each dog is drawn as a companion on the road, and also as a kind of guide. These animals can turn attention toward the present moment, the natural world and the pleasure of being close to another creature.

The book is a poetry collection, not a narrative, so it can be read in order or opened at any page. The tone shifts from playful to mournful, and the focus stays on the animals themselves. Images of the dogs are planned to accompany the poems, with Nieves García Prados credited as co-author.

It suits readers who already know Oliver's nature poetry and anyone who has shared a life with a dog.