Della West

Hesperia Jack and the Desert Rose Della West

Poet Della West transports you back to a time of larger-than-life legends and love stories-making you long for adventure and open horizons as the figures of the American West she brings to life ride wild and free through your imagination.

West sets her collection in the high desert of 1800s Southern California, a landscape that demanded hard work and sacrifice. Hesperia Jack is one of the few with the courage to "Conquer the Beast," as West recounts in her poem by this name. Jack knows that for many, "Lacking in spirit, true courage, and grit, / It conquered them before they conquered it."

Jack and those like him must bear the hardships of the life they chose. When the community has a funeral for a cowboy taken too early, wayfarers journey through the "Valley of Sorrow." Jack refuses, however, to let the desert conquer him, and he is rewarded for his troubles-the beautiful, passionate Desert Rose becomes his.

From the romance of a barn dance to the surprising quirk of "The Billy Goat Saloon," West celebrates both the hard work and the happy times of the couple, their community-and America's heritage.