Harbor Light LitChat November, 2014
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www.harborlightnews.com Week of November 5-11, 2014 4B Harbor Light Community Newsweekly Celebrating Words, Literature, Authors, Libraries, Booksellers and Reading! As part of our ongoing efforts to honor reading and writing, “LitChat” will be included in our newspaper on a regular basis. Emily Meier, a writer and reader with deep connections to northern Michigan, is our LitChat editor. LitCha t Emily Meier and Wally Celebrating a dog’s life in words Quotable “It’s simultaneously never the right time for a new dog, no matter what, and always the right time for a new dog, no matter what.” ~ Guy Martin “All his life he tried to be a good person. Many times, however, he failed. For after all, he was only human. He wasn’t a dog.” ~Charles M. Schulz The Petoskey-Harbor Springs Area Community Foundation is your community foundation. We are all about making good things happen to make our community great. For you. For everyone Anyone can give Everyone gains You can have an impact -- today, tomorrow, forever 3 Youth 3 Environment 3 Recreation Contact us today to learn more about your community foundation: 231.348.5820 / www.phsacf.org Together we can do more 3 Arts & Culture 3 Health & Human Services 3 Community & Economic Development Support Grow Thrive Share Enrich Be sure to take advantage of all the great events we have planned for the month of November. Join in for fun, informative, and entertaining activities throughout the entire month! Share Togetherness Poet Mary Oliver is another dog person I trust when it comes to books about dogs. Oliver’s new book of poems is entitled Blue Horses. It is a continuation of the poetic conversation she has been engaged in about nature and all living things throughout her career. But her book of dog poems, published last year, entitled Dog Songs, is the fitting companion piece to the essays in Garden & Gun’s book. Oliver is a Pulitzer Prize and National Book award- winning poet. The New York Times described her as “far and away, [America’s] best-selling poet”. She publishes a new book almost every year and most hit the New York Times bestseller list, a feat unheard of for the majority of poets. Oliver’s poems and prose are kind, accessible, and thought provoking in a way that catches the reader unexpectedly. But most importantly she is a dog lover. In a short prose piece included in Dog Songs she writes: “Because of the dog’s joyfulness, our own is increased. It is no small gift. It is not the least reason why we should honor as well as love the dog of our own life, and the dog down the street, and all the dogs not yet born. What would the world be like without music or rivers or the green and tender grass? What would the world be like without dogs?” I can’t imagine a life without a dog. For every vacuum container filled with dog hair, every slobber ruined outfit, every sore dog bone stubbed toe there is, in return, a laugh, companionship, and shared adventure. Wally lies at my feet as I write this. . . As I close my computer screen, he will get up and stretch, then trot ahead of me to the door. He is a patient reminder that a world beyond the desk is wait- ing, my life. A good dog life. Dog is still my favorite word. Christmas Cards buy 2, get 1 free (third one is FREE) HUGE selection of cards by Lang, Galison, Pumpernickel and more. M y first word was “dog”. My parents thought it telling that, instead of the usual “momma” or “dada”, I called out to the furry member of the family first. When I was born, my parent’s worried about their dog accepting me into the pack. “Charkie” was a Lhasa Apso with a long charcoal colored coat, hence the name Charcoal. “Charkie” for short. He was given to my mother as a gift and his loyalty lay with her. In order to help the relationship along, my mother gave feeding and walking duties to my father. But Charkie, quite liter- ally, bit the hand that fed him. He growled when my father got into bed each night, nipped at his toes should he dare move, and bared his teeth whenever my father got close to my mother. Given Charkie’s gnarling protectiveness, it’s a miracle I even exist. They need not have worried so about Charkie. For, upon my arrival home from the hospital, Charkie trotted into the nursery behind my mother, watched her put me in my crib, and then promptly positioned himself under the crib to guard me. He allowed my mother to come and go as needed. But my father was met with growling and barking whenever he entered the room and was given a nip when he got too close to the crib. Charkie did not allow anyone outside the family to even cross the threshold of the room. Perhaps it was this sensed loyalty that was returned when I uttered my first word in his honor, “Dog”. We are dog people. And throughout my life there have always been dogs. Charkie, Scruffy, Sadie, Bear, Bailey, Rags, and Bitsy were the family dogs that accompanied us through our youth. And then, as an adult, Lewis and Wally have been by my side. These two labs are the dogs that have defined my foray into adulthood. In this life, a dog has always accompanied me. I am not one to remember specific dates and years. Dogs mark the defining moments and times of my life. It is in dog years that I tell the story of my own life. It seems I am not the only one. There are countless books about the relationships between dogs and their people. Most I can’t read because, when it comes to animals, I can’t handle the retelling of sad goodbyes or any kind of mistreatment. As a rule, I steer clear of television shows, movies, and most books about dogs or any animal really. Maybe there is something wrong with me. I can watch people be maimed and murdered in movies but one scene where a human so much as raises a hand at an animal and I am cringing and crying. So it was with a bit of trepidation that I started reading Garden & Gun magazine’s monthly Good Dog column. Instead of the sentimental and sad schlock that is the usual offering when it comes to current day “dog literature”, this column features some of the best writers writing about their dogs in a way that only true dog people can. I enjoy the magazine for many reasons but soon the Good Dog column became the highlight of my subscription. Even better news, there is now a book! Good Dog: True Stories of Love,Loss,and Loyalty edited by Editor in Chief David DiBenedetto and the Editors of Garden & Gun is worth a read. Rick Bragg, Roy Blount JR, Jill McCorkle, Katie Crouch, and P.J. O’Rourke are just a few of the great writers adding their dog story to this collection. These true stories are funny, poignant and completely relat- able. They are proof that dogs teach us more about ourselves than we could ever teach them.
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Harbor Light Newspaper LitChat page
Transcript of Harbor Light LitChat November, 2014
www.harborlightnews.com Week of November 5-11, 20144B Harbor Light Community Newsweekly
Celebrating Words, Literature, Authors, Libraries, Booksellers and Reading!
As part of our ongoing efforts to honor reading and writing, “LitChat” will be included in our newspaper on a regular basis. Emily Meier, a writer and reader with deep connections to northern Michigan, is our LitChat editor.
L i t C h a t
Emily Meier and Wally
Celebrating a dog’s life in words
Quotable
“It’s simultaneously never the right time for a new dog, no matter what, and always the right time for a new dog, no matter what.”
~ Guy Martin
“All his life he tried to be a good person. Many times, however, he failed. For after all, he was only human. He wasn’t a dog.”
~Charles M. Schulz
The Petoskey-Harbor Springs Area Community Foundation is your community foundation. We are all about making good things happen to make our community great. For you. For everyone
Anyone can giveEveryone gains
You can have an impact -- today, tomorrow, forever
3 Youth3 Environment3 Recreation
Contact us today to learn more about your community foundation: 231.348.5820 / www.phsacf.org
Togetherwe can do more
3 Arts & Culture3 Health & Human Services3 Community & Economic Development
Support
Grow
Thrive
Share
Enrich
5.75 x 5 Ad_Donor_Layout 1 5/2/14 10:16 AM Page 1
Be sure to take advantage of all the great events we have planned for the month of November.
Join in for fun, informative, and entertaining activities throughout the entire month!
ShareTogetherness
Poet Mary Oliver is another dog person I trust when it comes to books about dogs. Oliver’s new book of poems is entitled Blue Horses. It is a continuation of the poetic conversation she has been engaged in about nature and all living things throughout her career. But her book of dog poems, published last year, entitled Dog Songs, is the fitting companion piece to the essays in Garden & Gun’s book. Oliver is a Pulitzer Prize and National Book award-winning poet. The New York Times described her as “far and away, [America’s] best-selling poet”. She publishes a new book almost every year and most hit the New York Times bestseller list, a feat unheard of for the majority of poets. Oliver’s poems and prose are kind, accessible, and thought provoking in a way that catches the reader unexpectedly. But most importantly she is a dog lover. In a short prose piece included in Dog Songs she writes:
“Because of the dog’s joyfulness, our own is increased. It is no small gift. It is not the least reason why we should honor as well as love the dog of our own life, and the dog down the street, and all the dogs not yet born. What would the world be like without music or rivers or the green and tender grass? What would the world be like without dogs?”
I can’t imagine a life without a dog. For every vacuum container filled with dog hair, every slobber ruined outfit, every sore dog bone stubbed toe there is, in return, a laugh, companionship, and shared adventure. Wally lies at my feet as I write this. . . As I close my computer screen, he will get up and stretch, then trot ahead of me to the door. He is a patient reminder that a world beyond the desk is wait-ing, my life. A good dog life. Dog is still my favorite word.
Christmas Cards
buy 2, get 1 free (third one is FREE)
HUGE selection of cards by Lang, Galison,
Pumpernickel and more.
My first word was “dog”. My parents thought it telling
that, instead of the usual “momma” or “dada”, I called out to the furry member of the family first. When I was born, my parent’s worried about their dog accepting me into the pack.
“Charkie” was a Lhasa Apso with a long charcoal colored coat, hence the name Charcoal. “Charkie” for short. He was given
to my mother as a gift and his loyalty lay with her. In order to help the relationship along, my mother gave feeding and walking duties to my father. But Charkie, quite liter-ally, bit the hand that fed him. He growled when my father got into bed each night, nipped at his toes should he dare move, and bared his teeth whenever my father got close to my mother. Given Charkie’s gnarling protectiveness, it’s a miracle I even exist.
They need not have worried so about Charkie. For, upon my arrival home from the hospital, Charkie trotted into the nursery behind my mother, watched her put me in my crib, and then promptly positioned himself under the crib to guard me. He allowed my mother to come and go as needed. But my father was met with growling and barking whenever he entered the room and was given a nip when he got too close to the crib. Charkie did not allow anyone outside the family to even cross the threshold of the room. Perhaps it was this sensed loyalty that was returned when I uttered my first word in his honor, “Dog”.
We are dog people. And throughout my life there have always been dogs. Charkie, Scruffy, Sadie, Bear, Bailey, Rags, and Bitsy were the family dogs that accompanied us through our youth. And then, as an adult, Lewis and Wally have been by my side. These two labs are the dogs that have defined my foray into adulthood. In this life, a dog has always accompanied me. I am not one to remember specific dates and years. Dogs mark the defining moments and times of my life. It is in dog years that I tell the story of my own life.
It seems I am not the only one. There are countless books about the relationships between dogs and their people. Most I can’t read because, when it comes to animals, I can’t handle the retelling of sad goodbyes or any kind of mistreatment. As a rule, I steer clear of television shows, movies, and most books about dogs or any animal really. Maybe there is something wrong with me. I can watch people be maimed and murdered
in movies but one scene where a human so much as raises a hand at an animal and I am cringing and crying.
So it was with a bit of trepidation that I started reading Garden & Gun magazine’s monthly Good Dog column. Instead of the sentimental and sad schlock that is the usual offering when it comes to current day “dog literature”, this column features some of the best writers writing about their dogs in a way that only true dog people can. I enjoy the magazine for many reasons but soon the Good Dog column became the highlight of my subscription. Even better news, there is now a book! Good Dog: True Stories of Love, Loss, and Loyalty edited by Editor in Chief David DiBenedetto and the Editors of Garden & Gun is worth a read. Rick Bragg, Roy Blount JR, Jill McCorkle, Katie Crouch, and P.J. O’Rourke are just a few of the great writers adding their dog story to this collection. These true stories are funny, poignant and completely relat-able. They are proof that dogs teach us more about ourselves than we could ever teach them.
