The Flying Dutchman

by Walter McDonald

Genres: Poetry

57 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 1987

Reviews

[David Finger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Walter McDonald, who was selected as Poet Laureate of Texas in 2001, penned a solid collection of poetry in 1987 in The Flying Dutchman. Each poem paints a vivid and haunting picture of a West Texan who was molded and shaped by the rugged land he called home, but also of the war that clearly haunted him over two decades after he returned home. Death is a subject that is often mentioned in his poems, but they carry a “matter of fact” casualness that hides the pain of lost friends in Vietnam. And the poem “Bones in a San Juan Mine, 11,000” was absolutely haunting and stayed with me long after I finished this short collection of poetry.