My hound is feeling poorly, so I pulled Joyce Sidman’s The World According to Dog off the shelf. I’m not sure if it cheered me entirely, since there are a few tear-jerkers in this collection. But it’s a lovely book, full of poems made for every dog lover, and Doug Mindell’s photographs are gorgeously evocative. Sidman writes about the profound connection between dogs and their people. And to make this book even better, Sidman intersperses her own work with poems and short essays written by teens in praise of their canines.
A little taste of one of my favourites by Sidman herself:
from What Your Ears Remind Me Of
Camouflaged entrances to
a secret underground cavern.
The beard of a Sikh warrior,
the tail of his steed.
The lazy fold of the sleeve
of some royal garment…
For the rest, you’ll have to get your hands on The World According to Dog.
Meanwhile, here are some dog ears that draw much admiration from all those fortunate enough to view them live:
Get well soon small dog.
Shelf Elf: read, write, rave. 