It’s Hard Enough to Fly

Composer Donald Wheelock, Irwin and Pauline Alper Glass Professor Emeritus of Music at Smith College, began writing poems in his twenties, often for the purpose of setting them to music. Many of his poems soon declared their independence from that purpose, however. In the last few years, he has revived some of those early poems to add to the many he has recently written, successfully submitting them to publications that welcome formal poetry. His chapbook, In the Sea of Dreams, is available through Gallery of Readers Press. It’s Hard Enough to Fly is his first full-length book of poems. His musical works include chamber, vocal and orchestral music. He has received awards, as a composer, from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Guggenheim Foundation. He lives with his wife Anne in Whately, Massachusetts.

Paperback: 72 pages
Publisher: Kelsay Books (September 13, 2022)