At the Oasis

Bill McDonald was born on a farm near Nunda, South Dakota, in 1924. After a childhood on such farms and in one-room country schools, he served in the U.S. Army in Africa and Europe during World War II, and then took advantage of the GI Bill to attend college, graduating with a double major in physics and mathematics. He married a local girl; they raised four children who are now raising children of their own.

Bill has juggled careers--in industry, as an industrial physicist; in the military, as a now retired reserve colonel; in agriculture, as a lifetime part time farmer; and in local government. In addition, he attended law school late in life and was admitted to the Minnesota Bar in 1982, practicing primarily in Family Court, Juvenile Court, and as a Guardian ad Litem for juveniles. More recently, he returned to school and earned a master of fine arts degree in English, with a specialty in creative writing, from Mankato State University in 1995.

His previous publications include scientific papers as well as "Dakota Incarnate," a collection of short stories published by New Rivers Press in 1999, and "The Nunda Irish," a 1991 self published fictionalized history of a Dakota community. "Dakota Incarnate" was a 1997 Minnesota Voices competition winner. He has also published a number of poems, short stories, and essays in various literary journals. His poem, "A Cosmic Villanelle," was nominated for the Pushcart Prize XXV anthology in 1999.