When Mark Doty decides to adopt a dog as a companion for his dying partner, he brings home Beau, a large, malnourished golden retriever in need of loving care. Joining Arden, the black retriever, to complete their family, Beau bounds back into life. Before long, the two dogs become Doty's intimate c[...]

This is the first edition of one of the most highly praised and touching collections of poems to appear in recent years. In selecting it for the "National Poetry Series", Philip Levine said: 'The courage of this book is that it looks away from nothing: the miracle is that wherever it looks it finds [...]

Mark Doty's prose has been hailed as "tempered and tough, sorrowing and serene" ("The New York Times Book Review") and "achingly beautiful" ("The Boston Globe"). In "Still Life with Oysters and Lemon" he offers a stunning exploration of our attachment to ordinary things-how we invest objects with hu[...]

With passion, critical questioning, and humor, Adrienne Rich suggests how poetry has actually been lived in the world, past and present. In this essay, which was the basis for her speech upon accepting the National Book Foundation's Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, she range[...]