First edition, first printing, signed by the author on the first blank, of this volume of Mary Oliver's much-loved dog poems.

In her emotionally eloquent poetry collection Dog Songs, Mary Oliver brings the sheer gentleness and genius of her craft all over again. This brevity of our being is revisited courtesy of celebrated poet Mary Oliver in the trailing lines. Registered office: WSM Services Limited, Connect House, 133-137 Alexandra Road, Wimbledon, LONDON SW19 7JY.But even more powerful is the other direction of that affirmative affection — the wholehearted devotion of dogs, who love us unconditionally and in the process teach us to love; in letting us see ourselves through their eyes, they help us believe what they see, believe that we are worthy of love, that we are love.

One of her most poignant meditations strokes the heart of why dogs are so much more than the ornament Virginia Woolf’s nephew reduced them to. It is little remembered, but it has become one of those pockets of nostalgia that makes one wistful. It is not the least reason why we should honor as well as love the dog of our own life, and the dog down the street, and all the dogs not yet born.Dog Songs are American poet Mary Oliver's (September 10, 1935 - January 17, 2019) poetic reminiscences.

She] is a poet of wisdom and generosity whose vision allows us to look intimately at a world not of our making.The poems in Dog Songs begin in the small everyday moments familiar to all dog lovers and become, through her extraordinary vision, meditations on the world and our place in it. But I want to extol not the sweetness nor the placidity of the dog, but the wilderness out of which he cannot step entirely, and from which we benefit. Throughout, the many dogs of Oliver’s life merge as fellow travelers and as guides, uniquely able to open our eyes to the lessons of the moment and the joys of nature and connection. The other dog—the one that all its life walks leashed and obedient down the sidewalk—is what a chair is to a tree.

Trivial bump to fore edge, else a fine, crisp copy, in near-fine dust jacket, unclipped, small crease to front flap, bright and sharp.

We own dogs as far as we beg them not to run away, a supplication they might listen to or not, "depending on a million things. As in all of her poetry, Oliver patiently shows us how to slow, observe, withdraw, and speak the language of the senses.