I’d like to take a moment to reflect on this last year we’ve shared.

One year ago the first story aired on The Voice of Dog. The reality of the pandemic had arrived in my country, and all over the world people were feeling isolated and uncertain and powerless. I started this podcast because I wanted to do something about it —anything, just to make something, anything, better for someone. Anyone. 

I decided I wanted to tell people stories. Stories that would give them courage, or hope, and if nothing else, something to look forward to. Even if they didn’t listen to the stories, I still wanted people to know that someone cared enough about them to have a new story for them to enjoy, every time they came back.

The first was, appropriately, “Bad Dog!” by my friend Rob Baird. A story of unfairness, and powerlessness in the face of power — but also a story of defiance and of hope. Many other writers have contributed stories since then. There’s a name for writers who’ve had stories on this podcast, you know. They’re “Friends of the Fireplace” — in early stories I sometimes mentioned that, though I realized I never explained why, and fell out of the habit.

163 stories have appeared on The Voice Of Dog in the last year. 163, by 82 writers — well, 83 now, including me.

Today's story is “Where Stories Are Told”, a riff on the traditional Irish masterpiece “The Humours of Whiskey”, by Khaki, your faithful fireside companion, and friends — and I’d like to take a moment to thank them:

Rob Baird, for Games at Götterdämmerung, Bad Dog!

Televassi, for BlueBucks, Counter-Culture

Huskyteer, for The Lion of the Low Countries, The Zeroth Protocol, Once We Were Meerkats

NightEyes DaySpring, for Glory of the Gods, Foxing for Pizza, The Tomb Guardian, Loving You is Wrong

Altivo Overo, for Rabbit Food, How Menander Got His Name, A Close Port of Call, Beyond Mundane Horizons, Catch Me If You Can, Coyote's Voice, The Blue Eye of the Desert God, Harvest Home, All That Glitters, Gibbous Moon Waning

Toledo the Horse, for Fuzzy Memory, Returning, Secret

Domus Vocis, for Edge of the Universe, Somewhere in the White Void, Hades & Philos: Prelude, Bounty Hunter Uncle

Frances Pauli, for Rats, The Lion Sleeps, Always Tomorrow

Ryan Campbell, for 6 Unbelievable Facts About Unicorns That Will Completely Blow Your Mind, Eagle's Splendour

Mary E. Lowd, for Katelynn and the Hummingbird, Marge the Barge, Shreddy and the Dancing Dragon, Summer Strawberries, Rapscallions, Shreddy and the Carnivorous Plant, Ecto Cafe, The Canoe Race, A Real Stand-Up Guy

Daniel Lowd, for The Canoe Race, A Real Stand-Up Guy

Kandrel, for The Pack, The Adventurers, Adrenaline High, Salute the Flag, To Find You

Carrizo Kitfox, for The Rat's Gift

Faolan, for Earning his Stripes

Dark End, for The Aviatrix

Bill Ricardi, for Unseelie Pie, The Fastest Blade

Kyell Gold, for Cleaning Up, To Catch a Thief, Agent Friendzone

B. P. Rugger, for Colour Me Terrified, Of His Flesh the Mystery Sing

Slip-Wolf, for The Charitable Pact of a Soft Hearted Fool, Kypris' Kiss

Field T. Mouse, for A Little Distraction

Pascal Farful, for The Hadfield Robbery, The Sacred Cross, Nobody's Home

Madison Scott-Clary, for Gigs, Disappearance, Milkshakes and Foxes, The Fool

Ocean Tigrox, for Food, Feuds and Fake Flora

Renee Carter Hall, for The Wishing Tree

C.F. Becker, for A Day With the Skaraks

Nenekiri Bookwyrm, for A Gentle Rustling of Leaves, Unpredictability

Metassus, for The Library, At The Inn, Whitewash, Salted Beef, Crystal, Dear Sara, Snowed In

Ben Goodridge, for Hot Dog

SignificantOtter, for Lone

Kergiby, for Giving Thanks, Home Again, A Number's Game

Dwale, for The River in the Mist, Behesht

Spottystuff, for The Conqueror, Nonna, Let Them Have Cake

Faora Meridian, for Empty, Not So Above It All

Alison Cybe, for Don't Forget your Comic Books!, Space Warrior Hitachi, I Never Wear Underwear

Skunkbomb, for A Rock Among Millions, Broadstripe, Virginia Smells Like Skunk

Dan Leinir Turthra Jensen, for You Are Our Lifeboat, Flying Rat, No Peas In My Garden

W.R. Frixmargen, for Glorvan and the Cart, Little Light Show

Crimson Ruari, for Galician Sled, Tokyo Tension, Going Home, Somewhere In The Cypress, Gate-Keeper

Jaden Drackus, for The Fox and the Lion Cosplayer

Jay "Shirou" Coughlan, for Dragon Roasted Coffee Beans

Joel Kreissman, for A World Lost

TJ Minde, for Missed Feelings, Like Playing a Volkswagen

Kirisis "KC"  Alpinus, for No Dogs

Gre7g Luterman, for Dragonslayer

John Bailey, for Twilight Sparkle Goes to Bed

Amy Clare Fontaine, for Of a Hawk and a Lighthouse

Ian Madison Keller, for The Widehorn Herd, Bucking the Trend, Blind Date Blues

Royce Day, for Oiled Leather, To Catch the Lightning, At Prayer

MikasiWolf, for Kenyak's Saga, A Part of the Machine, A Leap Forward, A Leap Forward, A Leap Forward

Chapter I, by Kenneth Grahame, for The Wind in the Willows, The Wind in the Willows

Tempo, for Robin Hood and Her Valkyrie

Utunu, for Water

Rob MacWolf, for Fourth Man Left Outside, "The Last Journey Of Theodore Vulcek, Leader, Beloved Husband, and Pack Brother", and for writing half of today’s song.

H.J. Pang, for Remembering the Forgotten

Thurston Howl, for Ghosts of Cinnamon and Lavender

Ian Madison Keller, for Blind Date Blues, Blind Date Blues

SakaraFox, for A Well-Deserved Rest

Dirt Coyote, for I'm Just Your Stud, Leave It for the Morning, You Can Watch Me Dance

Blouie the Blue Heeler, for Aurora Borealis

K.C. Shaw, for Sound Check

Mog Moogle, for Over the Top

Roland Jovaik, for Variables

Killick, for Sky Defender

J.B. Rockwell, for Monkeyshines

Weasel, for These Are The Days of Our Lives

Dire, for Mischief Makers

J.F.R. Coates, for Lights In The Sky

Alice Clawford, for Feeling Sheepish

Anhedral, for Abstinence

Kayode Lycaon, for A Lazy Monday, Date Night

Tanner Silverpaw, for Winter Snow

Al Song, for Tempus Imperfectum

Aelius, for Urban Mystic, The Scout

Herr Wozzeck, for Shopping Trip

Darius Davis, for Familiar Encounter

Reid Minnich, for Hostage, Chinchilla Attack

Lauren Rivers, for Morning Coffee

JS Hawthorne, for Endless Winter

Kenneth Grahame, for The Wind in the Willows

Vixyy Fox, for The First Snow Waltz

Nachtfangen, for Cease Fire

I’d also like to thank my friend Colson Grainger for the use of his song “Intensely Beautiful and Strange”, a favourite of mine, whose gentle guitar has bookended every story to date.

And last but not least, I'd like to thank you, too. With all the love in my heart, and al the wisdom of the universe:

Thank you for listening to The Voice of Dog. 

You’re listening to The Voice of Dog.

Today’s story is

“Where Stories Are Told”

by Khaki, your faithful fireside companion,

and friends — but before we get to that,

I’d like to take a moment to reflect on this last year we’ve shared.

One year ago the first story

aired on The Voice of Dog.

The reality of the pandemic had arrived in my country,

and all over the world people were feeling isolated

and uncertain and powerless.

I started this podcast because I wanted to do something about it

—anything, just to make something,

anything, better for someone.

Anyone. I decided

I wanted to tell people stories.

Stories that would give them courage, or hope, and if nothing else, something to look forward to.

Even if they didn’t listen to the stories,

I still wanted people to know that someone

cared enough about them

to have a new story for them to enjoy,

every time they came back.

The first was, appropriately,

“Bad Dog!” by my friend Rob Baird.

A story of unfairness, and powerlessness in the face of power — but also a story of defiance

and of hope. Many other writers have contributed stories since then.

There’s a name for writers who’ve had stories on this podcast, you know.

They’re “Friends of the Fireplace” —

in early stories I sometimes mentioned that,

though I realized I never explained why, and fell out of the habit. 163 stories have appeared on The Voice Of Dog

in the last year.

163, by 82 writers — well, 83 now, including me.

Speaking of which:

“Where Stories Are Told”

by Khaki and Friends

‘Twas night, dark and stormy /

a story before me /

of a grace and a glory that touches a heart

In spite of the weather /

which rages on whether / we're gathered together

or farther apart

Our passions rebelling

/ depression dispelling / compelled by the telling of tales by a fire

Of villains notorious /

victors,victorious /

glorious stories are what we require

Our weapon of choice is / our bevy of voices! /

We bellow, rejoicing courageous and bold!

When readers and fighters / and lovers and writers / discover they're welcome Where stories are told!

That hum from afar is / the strum of guitar as this / baritone rogue introduces himself,

Your faithful companion / and grateful rapscallion / proceeds to read prose from a book off his shelf

Through mysteries

Orphic / and anthropomorphic / it all may sound queer but it's just what you seek.

If this one’s too bawdy / or that one too naughty /

then friend, do not fear there's another next week.

So put on a kettle / of something to settle /

your worries and hardships And ward off the cold

This haven of ours is / where wordsmithing artists / impart you catharsis where stories are told.

With magical animals / tragic and fragile / alliances signed between lions and boars,

And maybe a meerkat / oh, baby, it's clear that / our stable of fables Is far from explored.

These sagas alluring /

and yarns reassuring / both new and enduring are sure worth a look;

With cooked cornucopias,

urban zootopias,

doozies you’ll find when you open a book.

With mice as Sherlockers / and rabbits as coppers /

and puppies as paupers and Princes of old

Embrace our traditions / and make them your missions to / brandish your visions where stories are told.

Now this riddle expound: / Where may dragons be found / where the sphinx’s words sound in the voice of the dog?

The wolf on the water /

the tail of the otter /

the bear-prince’s daughter, the crackling of logs?

It's chaste or it's hoary /

it's all allegory / but you all have stories your souls yearn to tell.

So stand in defiance /

when self-doubting silence / would leave them untold and forgotten as well.

The speech you'd be speaking /

the ears it's been seeking / may meet

and embrace amid praises extolled

If you write it, and share it /

and take special care it / may soon find a place here where stories are told.

When the plan’s fallen through, /

and all hope’s fallen too, / and the rent’ll be due on a desperate age

Injustice systemic /

and fearful polemic / in time of pandemic when futile wars wage.

Is it too much to ask /

when I put on my mask, / or my headphones, to bask

in the worlds that could be

That just for a moment /

I may feel at home at / the fireside, alone

but together with thee? So let us all near be, / if only in theory: /

the voice that we hear,

the companions we hold

And long may we dwell here / And all will be well here / or so I’ve heard tell, here where stories are told.

We’re readers, we’re fighters /

we’re lovers, we’re writers /

we’re all here united

where stories are told.

This was “Where Stories Are Told”,

a riff on the traditional Irish masterpiece

“The Humours of Whiskey”,

by Khaki, your faithful fireside companion, and friends —

and I’d like to take a moment

to thank them. Rob Baird,

for Games at Götterdämmerung,

Bad Dog! Televassi,

for BlueBucks, Counter-Culture

Huskyteer, for The Lion of the Low Countries,

The Zeroth Protocol,

Once We Were Meerkats

NightEyes DaySpring,

for Glory of the Gods,

Foxing for Pizza,

The Tomb Guardian,

Loving You is Wrong

Altivo Overo,

for Rabbit Food, How Menander Got His Name,

A Close Port of Call,

Beyond Mundane Horizons,

Catch Me If You Can, Coyote's Voice,

The Blue Eye of the Desert God,

Harvest Home, All That Glitters,

Gibbous Moon Waning

Toledo the Horse,

for Fuzzy Memory,

Returning, Secret

Domus Vocis, for Edge of the Universe,

Somewhere in the White Void, Hades & Philos:

Prelude, Bounty Hunter Uncle

Frances Pauli, for Rats,

The Lion Sleeps, Always Tomorrow

Ryan Campbell,

for 6 Unbelievable Facts About Unicorns That Will Completely Blow Your Mind,

Eagle's Splendour

Mary E. Lowd, for Katelynn and the Hummingbird, Marge the Barge, Shreddy and the Dancing Dragon,

Summer Strawberries,

Rapscallions, Shreddy and the Carnivorous Plant,

Ecto Cafe, The Canoe Race,

A Real Stand-Up Guy

Daniel Lowd, for The Canoe Race,

A Real Stand-Up Guy

Kandrel, for The Pack,

The Adventurers, Adrenaline High,

Salute the Flag, To Find You

Carrizo Kitfox, for The Rat's Gift

Faolan, for Earning his Stripes

Dark End, for The Aviatrix

Bill Ricardi, for Unseelie Pie,

The Fastest Blade

Kyell Gold, for Cleaning Up,

To Catch a Thief, Agent Friendzone

B. P. Rugger, for Colour Me Terrified,

Of His Flesh the Mystery Sing

Slip-Wolf, for The Charitable Pact of a Soft Hearted Fool, Kypris' Kiss

Field T. Mouse,

for A Little Distraction

Pascal Farful, for The Hadfield Robbery,

The Sacred Cross,

Nobody's Home

Madison Scott-Clary,

for Gigs, Disappearance,

Milkshakes and Foxes, The Fool Ocean Tigrox,

for Food, Feuds and Fake Flora

Renee Carter Hall,

for The Wishing Tree C.

C.F. Becker, for A Day With the Skaraks Nenekiri Bookwyrm,

for A Gentle Rustling of Leaves,

Unpredictability

Metassus, for The Library,

At The Inn, Whitewash,

Salted Beef, Crystal,

Dear Sara, Snowed In

Ben Goodridge, for Hot Dog

SignificantOtter,

for Lone Kergiby, for Giving Thanks,

Home Again, A Number's Game

Dwale, for The River in the Mist,

Behesht Spottystuff,

for The Conqueror,

Nonna, Let Them Have Cake Faora Meridian, for Empty, Not So Above It All Alison Cybe, for Don't

Forget your Comic Books!,

Space Warrior Hitachi,

I Never Wear Underwear

Skunkbomb, for A Rock Among Millions,

"Broadstripe, Virginia Smells Like Skunk"

Dan Leinir Turthra Jensen,

for You Are Our Lifeboat,

Flying Rat, No Peas In My Garden

W.R. Frixmargen,

for Glorvan and the Cart,

Little Light Show

Crimson Ruari, for Galician Sled,

Tokyo Tension, Going Home,

Somewhere In The Cypress,

Gate-Keeper Jaden Drackus,

for The Fox and the Lion Cosplayer Jay "Shirou" Coughlan, for Dragon Roasted Coffee Beans

Joel Kreissman, for A World Lost

TJ Minde, for Missed Feelings,

Like Playing a Volkswagen

Kirisis "KC" Alpinus,

for No Dogs Gre7g Luterman,

for Dragonslayer

John Bailey, for Twilight Sparkle Goes to Bed

Amy Clare Fontaine,

for Of a Hawk and a Lighthouse

Ian Madison Keller, for The Widehorn Herd,

Bucking the Trend,

Blind Date Blues

Royce Day, for Oiled Leather,

To Catch the Lightning,

At Prayer MikasiWolf,

for Kenyak's Saga, A Part of the Machine, A Leap Forward,

A Leap Forward, A Leap Forward Chapter I,

by Kenneth Grahame, for The Wind in the Willows, The Wind in the Willows

Tempo, for Robin Hood and Her Valkyrie

Utunu, for Water Rob MacWolf,

for Fourth Man Left Outside,

"The Last Journey Of Theodore Vulcek,

Leader, Beloved Husband, and Pack Brother",

and for writing half of today’s song.

H.J. Pang, for Remembering the Forgotten

Thurston Howl, for Ghosts of Cinnamon and Lavender Ian Madison Keller, for Blind Date Blues, Blind Date Blues

SakaraFox, for A Well-Deserved Rest

Dirt Coyote, for I'm Just Your Stud,

Leave It for the Morning,

You Can Watch Me Dance

Blouie the Blue Heeler,

for Aurora Borealis

K.C. Shaw, for Sound Check

Mog Moogle, for Over the Top

Roland Jovaik, for Variables

Killick, for Sky Defender

J.B. Rockwell, for Monkeyshines

Weasel, for These Are The Days of Our Lives

Dire, for Mischief Makers

J.F.R. Coates, for Lights In The Sky

Alice Clawford, for Feeling Sheepish

Anhedral, for Abstinence

Kayode Lycaon, for A Lazy Monday,

Date Night Tanner Silverpaw,

for Winter Snow Al Song, for Tempus Imperfectum

Aelius, for Urban Mystic, The Scout

Herr Wozzeck, for Shopping Trip

Darius Davis, for Familiar Encounter

Reid Minnich, for Hostage,

Chinchilla Attack

Lauren Rivers, for Morning Coffee

JS Hawthorne, for Endless Winter Kenneth Grahame, for The Wind in the Willows

Vixyy Fox, for The First Snow Waltz Nachtfangen, for Cease Fire

I’d also like to thank my friend Colson Grainger for the use of his song

“Intensely Beautiful and Strange”,

a favourite of mine,

whose gentle guitar has bookended every story to date.

And last but not least,

I'd like to thank you, too.

With all the love in my heart,

and al the wisdom of the universe:

Thank you for listening

to The Voice of Dog.