The Poetry of Dogs

This anthology of poetry, which contains both familiar and lesser known works, is a delightful tribute to man's best friend. Arranged so that each poem is linked to the one that follows, and beautifully illustrated by Maggie Raynor, this is a book that dog lovers will return to again and again.

If poems about animals were sorted by genus, the pile of bird poems would probably tower highest. Next tallest would probably be the dog-poem stack. Bird-poem anthologies certainly outnumber dog-poem books, however, which adds to this exemplary collection's charms. Editor Way, who contributes a few poems herself, says she cast her net wide and thus includes first-time-published poets, many of the most august bards in English, and a smattering of foreigners, from Homer to Francis Jammes, in sturdy, though often uncredited, translations. She has laid out her 201 selections in a scheme she explains in the introduction, but the book is designed to be opened anywhere and enjoyed. Rudyard Kipling opens and closes the festivities, and the many dog drawings by Maggie Raynor throughout the book provide handsome and endearing but, thanks to their realism, not saccharine decoration. Ray Olson
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