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Bob MacKenzie
I have a lifelong intimate relationship with mountains. I spent my childhood and youth in or near the Canadian Rockies, the mountain ranges of British Columbia’s coast and interior, and as far north as the Cariboo. Our family summers were spent on the road, camping among the mountainside pines.
The idea of a book on mountain experiences refreshed my memory of those halcyon days and the powerful magic of Canada’s majestic mountains. This book draws upon that memory of mid-century, when I was ten or twelve years old and felt the gods of the mountains all around me.
Sharlena Wood
The world around me inspires my passion to create images of its beauty and mystery. This is my personal spirit quest, to explore this wonderful world. My work on this book is an extension of that quest. I shall be forever grateful to Bob MacKenzie for his encouragement to reach to the depths of my soul so that I might share his extraordinary journey, in all its creative wonderment. This has been a serendipitous awakening with a kindred traveller.
Reviewed by Carla Trueheart for Readers' Favorite
Spirit Quest by poet Bob MacKenzie and illustrator Sharlena Wood was a beautiful book of poetry. Throughout the book were gorgeous illustrations that matched the written poems perfectly. The poems themselves told stories of mountains, lakes, cabins, woods, and other serene settings. You can’t help but feel relaxed after reading these poems. With straightforward writing and themes that many of us can relate to, this book of poetry will be a valuable addition to any poetry library. The writing paints a picture throughout the book, and there is a definite sense that the author is a professional poet. I enjoyed reading this immensely.
Normally, I would say imagery is what poems are all about and would not really find the need for the illustrations in the book; however, the pictures that went with each poem were so beautiful and worked with the poems so well that they were not distracting at all. My favorite poem was Rose Lake, although I enjoyed the Fire poems and pretty much all the poems in Spirit Quest. It was obvious that poet Bob MacKenzie knew how to use language, and also obvious that illustrator Sharlena Wood was able to match the ideas and settings with ease. The colors in the illustrations range from black and white beauties to intense bursts of magentas, oranges, and blues. From one book, it was easy to gain a full picture of the poet’s life and experiences, including travels taken. I would recommend this book to those who enjoy nature poetry.
