Duggan's Dugout

For a decade, Duggan Flanakin turned his widower’s lonely home into a shelter for aspiring young creatives in need of an affordable, stable environment from which to begin turning their dreams into realities. Infinite Galaxies: Poems from the Dugout tells the story of how Duggan’s life adventures had prepared him for this restorative mission and how the community thus created grew to include traveling musicians and other visitors whose lives and fortunes have prospered through the contacts made with Duggan and his house mates. The poems that follow the brief narrative show the progression of Duggan’s journey toward reliance on Providence to guide his steps and supply his needs – as he helped supply the needs and fuel the aspirations of others. Moreover, Duggan reveals how his shared experiences with the fresh faces sent his way propelled him to release his first book of poems and a teaser of his prose at age seventy-four – and to launch a new career as a touring poet and public speaker. As for the poems, these words suffice:

For we ought

To be accustomed

To the infinite

Who is all around us

And in us.

We ought to know

That our encounters

Are opportunities

To expand our horizons

To grow in love and awe.