Old Dogs Remembered is an anthology of non-fiction and poems Perhaps dogs are man's best friends. Reminiscing about them certainly has provided material over the years for numerous writers, both men and women, as proved by Old Dogs Remembered. This quality trade paperback is an anthology of 49 essays, other short non-fiction pieces and poems by 46 writers remembering a dog, in some instances writing on the day of the dog's death and others as much as 40 years later. Four of the selections have been added since the 1993 publication in hardcover. Such expected contributors as James Thurber (three pieces), E.B. White (two), Albert Payson Terhune and Louis Bromfield are definitely here. So are such surprises as Eugene O'Neill, Brooks Atkinson, John Updike, John Cheever, Raymond Carver and Kenneth Rexroth. T.S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats may have inspired the musical Cats but his "Lines to a Yorkshire Terrier" is here with a note that his widow stressed they were "dog people". There is much emotion and sentiment but abundant humor as well. Molly Ivins' "What's in a Name?" is hilarious. Stanley Bing's beloved Elizabeth had "an I.Q. somewhere between a brick and a houseplant." E.B. White's Daisy "died sniffing life, and enjoying it." The collection is edited and introduced by Bud Johns and includes his "Requiem for a Fighting Spirit." Reader reaction to its magazine publication prompted his interest in what other writers over the years have done with similar subject matter and this anthology is the result.
The publisher, Jack Clinton; goodreading@synergisticbooks.com