Non-Dog by Harry Owen

When, in January 2008, Harry Owen moved to the Eastern Cape from England he had no idea what to expect of life there. Indeed, some of his closest friends had warned him against going to live in such a ‘dangerous’ place.

But now he knows that, for all its many problems, South Africa is one of the world’s most stunningly beautiful and genuinely miraculous places. The poems in this, Owen’s fourth collection, represent his response to that realisation.

About the author

Harry Owen, the inaugural Poet Laureate for Cheshire, UK, emigrated to South Africa in 2008. His collections are: Searching for Machynlleth, The Music of Ourselves, Five Books of Marriage and Non-Dog.

A memorial collection for his father, Worthy, was published in March 2011.

He edited I Write Who I Am: an anthology of Upstart poetry (Poets Printery, East London, 2011) which features the work of nineteen young poets from township schools in the Grahamstown area of the Eastern Cape.

Harry is a widely experienced performer, teacher and workshop facilitator who also hosts the hugely popular monthly open-floor poetry event called Reddits Poetry in Grahamstown, where he lives.

Date of Publication: March 2010
ISBN: 978-0-620-46472-7
Publisher: The Poets Printery, East London
Reviews: “The range of his poetry, its accessibility and openness, are among the noteworthy aspects of the collection. He writes with honesty, directness and humour about the world as he finds it.” – Ken Head (Ink, Sweat and Tears)

Harry Owen’s poems “resonate as though they could not possibly have been written in any other way, and never seem contrived.” – Adam Donaldson Powell (Book SA)

“Non-Dog is Cheshire-born South African poet, Harry Owen, in a friendly mood with his guard down.”- Geoffrey Jackson (Book SA)

“Your new collection is terrific! … Some astonishingly good poems – A Communion of Wasps, Purgatory and … oh, loads of others that really hit the mark. I hope the book is a real success.”- John Lindley

“This is poetry at its finest: luscious, almost tangible imagery shaped into perfect form.” – Janet Van Eeden (LitNet)