Dog Songs

Beloved by her readers, special to the poet's own heart, Mary Oliver's dog poems offer a special window into her world. Dog Songs collects some of the most cherished poems together with new works, offering a portrait of Oliver's relationship to the companions that have accompanied her daily walks, warmed her home, and inspired her work. To be illustrated with images of the dogs themselves, the subjects will come to colorful life here. These are poems of love and laughter, heartbreak and grief. In these pages we visit with old friends, including Oliver's well-loved Percy, and meet still others. Throughout, the many dogs of Oliver's life emerge as fellow travelers, but also as guides, spirits capable of opening our eyes to the lessons of the moment and the joys of nature and connection. Dog Songs is a testament to the power and depth of the human-animal exchange, from an observer of extraordinary vision

A brooding Gothic novel of suspense that reaches beyond the grave. Snooky, the retarded black boy, and Crazy Dog, the itinerant hound wander onto the decaying Voshaylee plantation. They witness without understanding, the love between Elizabeth and B.K. outside modern-day Atlanta, battling the power of Elizabeth's mother Maria from beyond the grave, Philip's endless love for his dead wife Maria and the bizarre love of the ever-naked young Travis and the mistress of Gavonlee, well into her eighties, as she attempts to quiet the crying imaginary child locked in her bedroom closet. Around these sick, weird but hypnotic characters revolve Bo Skooter, Miss Lucy's husband who is killed in circumstances as strange as his marriage, The Baby, Miss Lucy's daughter who found so little love as an unnamed child that she enjoys her mother's descent into dementia. Mother, Elizabeth's obese aberrant relative manipulates all. Philip seldom leaves his own rooms…and for very good reasons. Over all these twisted people hovers Maria, effecting more havoc from the grave than ever when alive. And then there is the pet snake. You may hate Crazy Dog Song but you will never forget it.

Kneehigh Theatre Company presents Dead Dog in a Suitcase written by Carl Grose. What the HELL is the world coming to? Based on The Beggar's Opera, John Gay's classic musical satire, Dead Dog in a suitcase (and other love songs) is busting with wit, wonder and weirdness. An extraordinary Kneehigh cast of actor-musicians shoot, hoot and shimmy their way through this twisted morality tale of our times...by turns SHOCKING, HILARIOUS, HEARTFELT and ABSURD! Mayor Goodman has been assassinated. Contract killer Macheath has just married Pretty Polly Peachum and they plan to escape to a better world – but they aren't going anywhere. Not if pickled pilchard, hair gel and concrete tycoon Les Peachum and his wife have anything to do with it. See, they aren't happy with their daughter marrying Macheath. Not one bit. Before the day is out Macheath will face the hangman's noose and much more besides. All the while, the dogs are howling, the pier is creaking, the babes are crying, the concrete is cracking and the truth won't stay hidden for much longer... This is now, this is it The world is poor and man's a shit The game is rigged, nothing's truer Death's a joke and life a sewer!

“Afrikaner Tromp Kramer and Bantu Sergeant Zondi [are] two detectives who are as far from stereotypes as any in the genre” (P. D. James, bestselling author of Death Comes to Pemberly). The year is 1962. Young Lt. Tromp Kramer of the Trekkersburg Murder and Robbery Squad has been ordered up to Jafini, a small, dusty town in northern Zululand, to investigate the “hero’s death” of the town’s chief detective, Maaties Kritzinger—another Afrikaner maverick, and one with many secrets. Kramer finds himself increasingly identifying with the victim as the investigation proceeds. And then his path crosses that of Bantu Det. Sgt. Mickey Zondi, who is trying to locate a killer whose summary execution will quiet the spirits of his ancestors. Despite racial differences, the two men sense a kinship—one that might prove dangerous in rural South Africa in the year of Nelson Mandela’s imprisonment. This riveting entry in the Gold Dagger Award–winning series reveals how the team of Kramer and Zondi first met, set against a fascinating historical backdrop.

In Super Dog Tricks, dog training celebrity and America’s Got Talent star Sara Carson shares her fun take on training for easy and ambitious dog tricks!

This handsome gift edition will appeal to anyone who is a dog lover, or a poet, or a poetry lover: 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 it: 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 readers: in short, just about everyone.