Discussion/ Book Club Questions
What is the mission of Wolf Tours, according to their own “Wolf Tours Mission Statement”? Is it purely transactional and capitalist, or does it have altruistic components as well? How do the poems “Gift Shop” and “Gratuity Not Included” complicate or extend your thinking on this? You might also consider what the Wolf Tours ad poems reveal about how the wolves try to market themselves to human clients.
According to “Day One,” Wolf Tours is “bigger than Disney, Universal,/or SeaWorld.” Why do you think so many humans want to go on this tour? Discuss “Wolf Tours Welcome Video,” “Day One,” and “Day Two” and consider what motivates humans to take a Wolf Tour.
What do the humans actually do on their Tour (as captured in the “Day” poems)? Why do you think the Wolf Tours itinerary includes the places and activities it does?
On the tour, the wolves offer the humans lessons in hunting, howling, loping, hiding, and dying. What do you think they are really trying to teach the humans when they do this? Pick a “Lesson” poem and dive in to uncover what you think its true lesson might be.
How have the human clients been changed by the end of their Wolf Tour, if at all? How do they remain unchanged?
The Wolf Tours tour guides and website are, according to the “wolftours.com/faq” poem, “comically unhelpful.” The wolves’ roundabout ways of speaking and answering questions is also on display in “Intake Q&A” and “Wolf Tours Rules.” Why are the wolves so cryptic and mysterious? Why are they often so private about their culture, even while they put it on display for profit?
“Epistemology of Wolves,” “Dying Lesson,” and many other poems in the book expose the very different ways of thinking employed by humans and wolves. What can you extrapolate about these different modes of thought? Whose perspective better matches your own attitudes, and why?
In what ways are the humans reverent or respectful of wolf culture and in what ways are they disrespectful and dismissive? Consider “Wolf Tours Welcome Video” and “Intake Q&A” for this. What kinds of miscommunications or culture clashes happen between the humans and wolves, and why?
What makes Rodney a success as a tour guide? What makes her a failure?
“Day Four” introduces the fact that Rodney is love-sick and heartbroken. From there, the book includes many different versions of “Rodney’s Tale.” Which do you like the best, and why? Which feels clearest and which most mysterious, and how do these different levels of transparency and opacity reflect wolf ways of thinking—or heartbroken ways of thinking?
Why might it be significant that the only human words Rodney knows are “thanks” and “books” (“Day Three”)? What other communication barriers come up between Rodney and her clients, or between the wolves and humans in general?
What do you make of the dark force “Scarlet,” introduced in “Wolf Tours First Aid”? Discuss Scarlet and the references to death, dread, and fear that come up throughout the book. Is this eco-grief, or something else?
“Hiding Lesson” asks: “Have you tested//reality and proven this isn’t/a dream?” What is the role of dreams in this story? Is it all a dream? Or an allegory? Consider the poems titled “The Wolves Speak to the Clients in a Dream.”
Guilt is mentioned in “Wolf Tours Official Statement on the Apocalyptic Summer Forest Fires.” What do the humans have to feel guilty for? Rodney? The wolves? Discuss the themes of guilt, regret, and shame that run throughout the book. You might also consider “Day Five,” “Gift Shop,” or “Rodney’s Tale (as translated by the other tour guides).”
What does Wolf Tours have to say about climate change, endangered animals, and eco-grief?
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