Selected Comments

In Hugh MacDonald's poetry, one touches upon reality in a sudden and surprising way. His poems revolve around growing up in the Maritimes and the memories of his grandfather. MacDonald writes about farming on Prince Edward Island where the earth is hard and red, and about the daily life on the eastern seaboard — going to church, buying a car, first marriage, and the existential loneliness of a writer.
                     —WFNS: imPRESSed (Cold Against the Heart)

In The Digging of Deep Wells MacDonald takes the reader into his confidence on a private journey through the emotional and spiritual responses the poet has toward middle age, parenthood, pivotal moments in adolescence and hidden male vulnerability.

There are, in this mostly narrative selection of poetry, verses of celebration depicting what it is like to play hockey, grow up, attend church, and live in pastoral P.E.I. There are also verses that tell of the frustration MacDonald feels as a helpless observer in a world that, despite the advent of each new generation, remains as illogical as ever.
                     —Black Moss Press

J. Hugh MacDonald's works copyright © to the author.