As a fairly new dog owner and poetry lover this was right up my street. I already loved Mary Oliver and it's wonderful to have her dog poems brought together. I think this would be a gorgeous gift book for a dog loving friend as it really talks to the special relationship we have with each animal and the memories we share with them. Warmly recommended.

Timeless poems on dogs by Mary Oliver. She takes inspiration from her own dogs and nature. What an enjoyable read. Would recommend reading aloud to your doggos!

This is such a joyful book - unexpected, fun, heartwarming and, for anyone who loves dogs, completely essential reading. I loved it.

Really enjoyed reading Mary Oliver’s poetry no matter the topic.I have two puppies who we love so this book was especially fun for me.Poems about dogs by this fine poet perfect for me.#netgalley #dogsongs

Some of these were great but others I liked less. I thought the middle section of the book the strongest. It started slowly I think, or maybe I just wasn't in the mood. I enjoyed the poems about Percy the most I think.

Dogs are the best.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

It has been a while I read poetry. When this book is available for e-ARC on @netgalley, I was bought by the lovely cover of sketched dog and I googled a bit about the author, Mary Oliver.

When I started reading this collection of poetry and prose about dogs, there was an issue of a Indonesian Niqabi woman who creates a shelter for 70 dogs in her own property. The debate was revolved around haram or halal and Islam is hostile to dogs resulting in the rejection of the neighbourhood of her and her shelter. I found it sad because she manages the shelter appropriately in terms of the sanitary and the health of the dogs and the fact that she does not only take care of dogs but also tens of cats and chicken.

I can recall the Islamic fable of a prostitute and a thirsty dog or the story of People of the Cave in surah Al-Kahf on how the dog stretched out in the entrance of the cave to keep these People from intruders. I was wondering when and why does Islam become vicious to dogs?

I am more like a dog person than a cat person. Probably because my father used to pet dogs (& never a cat) when I was little.
I found it so lovely that it comes with illustration of different types of dogs. The poetry and prose talk about the long-lasting friendship of dogs and the dog friends (Ms. Oliver doesn’t use the term of dog owner!♥️). In some of poetry, the dogs become friends with other dogs, the feeling of dogs being free in the nature, the loss when our dog dies and the sadness of Ms. Oliver seeing dogs who are always on leash and thinking that it is a kind of torture for the dog.

My favorite poetry, is Ricky Talks about Talking when Ms. Oliver talks to her new dog Ricky on how to understand him better as she is his new dog friend and Ricky answers to really ‘listen’ and they come to conclusion that to really ‘listen’ is to be present there when someone is talking showing that they care to each other. It really touched my heart. It was a conversation between human and dog. I found it funny when we can understand our pets better. But have we really ‘listen’ when we talk to other human?

Dog owners and dog lovers will love this collection of poems. Reading it was a lovely way to reflect on the wonder of dogs and remember long lost furry friends. However, it was maybe a touch too sentimental at times.

I will be purchasing a physical copy because I'd love to see the illustrations and it's a collection of poems that I imagine I will find relevant all through my life. I also think it will be an ideal gift for my dog mad mother.

This is in no way a useful review, but halfway the book I realised I have no affinity at all with dogs or other animals. You sure need that in order to enjoy the otherwise exquisite poems by Mary Oliver.

Mary Oliver is a poet and this book is her collection of poems about dogs. Talks about the bond between human and dog such is a lovely relationship that we have with dogs glide to them being so loyal. I like her descriptions of the dogs and I enjoyed her style of writing. The poems about about love, loss and makes you smile as in places .

Thank you NetGalley and Mary Oliver for letting me read this book.

I've been seeing Mary Oliver's poetry online for years, and it never fails to punch me in the chest with emotion. I've always wanted to read a collection of hers, but I've never got my hands on one. This was a fun way to start! Mary's relationship with dogs is slightly chaotic, in an excellent way, and there were so many bits here that made me go and find my dog for a cuddle. A real master writer at work.

trigger warning
<spoiler> the dog dies </spoiler>

In this illustrated collection of poems, Mary Oliver writes about the dogs she lived with, for you can't own a living being. There are two essays in this, pretty pictures, but mostly poems.

I thought I was not into poetry, foolish me. It might have been a case of me seeking out poems on the wrong topic, because this was fun, and upon wondering why I am so surprised by this I realised that most poetry I read is about romantic love and I am not into that.

This was amazing, this was fun, I want to cuddle a dog, or maybe twenty.
I will look up more of her work asap.

The arc was provided by the publisher.

Mary Oliver is a poet I have previously adored reading from. I have, so far, consumed two of her collections, Dream Work and Upstream: Selected Essays, which both combined a focus with the natural world as well as Oliver's own personal musings and history. I felt sure to also appreciate this collection, given both my previous adoration and the chosen subject matter.

I usually find poetry anthologies are volumes I want to linger over. Here, I found the individual poems very straight-forward and with none of the lyricism I anticipated, meaning I flew through them. The contents of each poem also often featured stories of Oliver's own four-legged companions and not on a more general love for or insights into the nature of our furry friends. They were sweet and pleasing, but provided no long-lasting enjoyment for me.

Dog Songs is a collection of poems by Mary Oliver about dogs, mostly collected together from other collections, and presented with some drawings of dogs in between. It charts dogs she's had, and feelings about them, though a series of short poems, often in conversation with the dog in question.

I've only ever read single poems by Mary Oliver before, but know that her poetry means a lot to many people, so I took the chance to read and review this collection. I enjoyed the gentle detail of her poetry and the exploration of emotion relating to having pets, but I'm not sure it was a good first collection of Oliver's to read, as it very much feels like something packaged together to sell to dog owners rather than a collection of poetry. I think it would make a good gift for a poetry-liking dog owner, but it wasn't quite for me.

I read this beautiful book in one sitting. I always enjoy Mary Oliver's writing. It is exquisite. This is my favourite of her poetry. I also love dogs so this book was perfect for me. I will read this many,many times.
Thanks to NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to read this amazing book!