Dog Show

“Collins remains the most companionable of poetic companions.” -The New York Times

Billy Collins’s Dog Show celebrates the joy of our canine best friends, honouring the love we feel for the animals who play such vital roles in our lives. In twenty-five poems, Collins distills the many ways dogs warm our hearts, from the happiness we experience as we watch a dog run unencumbered by our burdens, to the silliness of cradling a dog in our arms as we step on the scale together. Turning his inimitable eye and ear to the complexities of dog behaviour, Collins ponders all that these winning creatures give us and what we learn from them about ourselves.

For more than four decades Collins has delighted readers with his insight, wit, and clear poetic voice. In Dog Show, “America’s favorite poet” (The Wall Street Journal) illuminates man’s best friend (sorry, cat lovers). Accompanied by Pamela Sztybel’s watercolors, which effortlessly depict a dog’s humble grace, Dog Show reveals the profound role these majestic animals play in our lives and the meaning they give us.

Author Biography

Billy Collins is the author of thirteen poetry collections, including Taking Off Emily Dickinson’s Clothes, Whale Day, and Horoscopes for the Dead. He is also the editor of Poetry 180: A Turning Back to Poetry, 180 More: Extraordinary Poems for Every Day, and Bright Wings: An Illustrated Anthology of Poems About Birds. A former Distinguished Professor at Lehman College of the City University of New York, Collins served as Poet Laureate of the United States for 2001 to 2003 and as New York State Poet from 2004 to 2006. In 2016 he was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He lives in Florida with his wife, Suzannah.