Flatlander is a collection of forty one poems and a half dozen short stories by Robert C. Huckins, author of the novel American Dreamland and the travel essay collection Two Flags in China: A Travelogue. The short stories in Flatlander channel life's most essential and universal themes through an array of ordinary characters in complex settings. A woman struggles to find her self worth in the midst of seductive infidelity. An old man deals with the celebrity and dark secrets of being the first human being to land on Mars. A young girl in Pakistan discovers the shattering truth of her father's life. A religious zealot faces the ultimate test of his faith. A man survives disaster only to face the failings of his old life while trudging through an unforgiving new world. A woman risks losing everything she has by surrendering to her addictions. The poems of Flatlander reveal glimpses of longing, introspection, compromise and even humor while peeling away the layers obstructing the most vital components of the human condition.