January conversations, with dogs
January conversations, with dogs
Di Slaney
Paperback
In this tender, observational journey through the rhythms of winter walks and quiet companionship, Di Slaney captures the feeling of crisp air, frosted fields, and the warmth of connection – inviting readers to reflect on the solace of routine and the stories carried by every wagging tail.
Fully illustrated in colour by Jane Burn, this handsomely-produced pamphlet would make a perfect gift for lovers of poetry and/or dogs.
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Imprint: Valley Press
Published: January 2025
ISBN: 9781915606556
Catalogue no: VP0245
Page count: 42
Trim size: 198 x 129 mm
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Praise for January conversations, with dogs:
“It is entirely ordinary that so many of our citizens are, at any one time, out with their dogs; even in January a turn around the fields is as normal as day and night. In Di Slaney’s January conversations, with dogs, these hours of companionship – every walk the same, every walk different – are recorded with a quiet, growing wonder. Brisk and to the point, but full of revealing observations, these are poems that allow us to better understand one of our great, collective, national relationships – dogs and their people.”
— Jonathan Davidson
“Sparse, skeletal and yet heart-warming and soul-softening by increments, Di Slaney’s dog meetings create a subtly deepening sense of sympathetic resonance, of connections, and of days full of the melancholy light and beauty of ice crystals that grow and fall like poetry read at home on a snowy day. Read them and be transformed.”
— Miriam Darlington
“Di Slaney’s poem-portraits of the daily routine of walks and encounters are full of charm and gentle revelation, dioramas that flourish with detail beyond the bounds of their miniature proportions. These winter-morning meetings speak to our need for connection and conversation with each other – bringing out the common and humane in the characters, with their own stories of their losses and aches, in a beautiful, profound way.”
— Jane Commane
“Di Slaney gives us the opportunity to share a whole month’s worth of walks, their purple-streaked skylines and barking companions. The poet has fashioned a style which is so immediately and sensually alive that to read these poems is to walk alongside her and, best of all, to meet the fascinating people she meets. The collection celebrates how walking can lead us into accidental, sparkling and nourishing communities, how the apparently everyday is absolutely essential. These poems have the wind in their face, the earth at their feet and a world of people around them. Read them!”
— Jonathan Edwards
“I loved walking with Di and her dog, through January days grey and blue. This collection, a light in the drabbest month, is one for the walkers, those who understand the pull of the threads that gently bind a community.”
— Ana Sampson
About the author
Di Slaney is a poet, publisher and animal sanctuary founder who lives in Nottinghamshire. She has an MA in Creative Writing from Nottingham Trent University and owns Candlestick Press (famed for 'poetry pamphlets, instead of a card'). Her poems have been published in various magazines including Magma, The Rialto, The Interpreter’s House and Brittle Star, twice shortlisted for the Bridport Prize, and winner of the 2022 Plough Poetry Prize.
In 2005, Di and her husband moved into a Grade II Listed four-hundred-year-old farmhouse, populating it with livestock and eventually starting Manor Farm Charitable Trust. The house, the animals, and the surrounding village of Bilsthorpe became the subjects of her first full-length collection of poetry, Reward for Winter, published by Valley Press in 2016. A second collection, Herd Queen, followed in 2020.
Jane Burn is an award-winning poet, hybrid writer, artist and illustrator who lives for most of the year off-grid in Northumberland. Her illustrations have been used for many poetry book covers.