Dog Show: Poems

＂Billy Collins’s Dog Show celebrates the joy of our canine best friends, honoring the love we feel for these animals who play vital roles in so many of our lives. In twenty-five poems, Collins distills the many emotions dogs bring us, from the happiness we feel as we watch a dog trot out the door unencumbered by our burdens, to the silliness of holding a dog in our arms as we step on the scale together. Turning his inimitable eye and ear to the complexities of dog behavior, Collins ponders all that these winning creatures give us and what we learn from them about ourselves. For more than four decades Billy Collins has delighted readers with his insight, wit, and clear poetic voice. In Dog Show, ＂America’s favorite poet＂ (Wall Street Journal) illuminates America’s favorite pet (sorry, cat lovers). Accompanied by Pamela Sztybel’s watercolors that effortlessly depict a dog’s humble grace, Dog Show reveals the profound meaning these fetching animals bring to us＂-- Provided by publisher

Billy Collins is the author of fifteen collections of poetry, including Sailing Alone Around the Room, Aimless Love and, most recently, Water, Water. He served two terms as United State Poet Laureate and is a former Distinguished Professor of English at Lehman College and New York State Poet. He is a New York Public Library Literary Lion and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He is currently ＂between dogs,＂ his most recent an Australian Shepherd mix named Jeannine. He lives in Winter Park, Florida.

Pamela Sztybel is a painter who divides her time between New York City and Bridgewater, Connecticut. She has a dog named Jack.