On Edge

by Bob MacKenzie

Canadian poet Bob MacKenzie lives in a world of sharp contrasts mediated by shades of grey. In this world, there exists a fault line between the everyday in which most of us live and the fantastic, a dark place of dream, vision, and possibility where there's danger around every corner. Here exists that dark hole into which some of us sometimes falls, that place from which we fear we may never exist. Here is that place where those who feel unsafe and unprotected: the abused, the battered, the unwanted and used. in our world must finally go to hide. Not everyone who reaches this point can see the light that will guide him or her out again to safety.

MacKenzie straddles the schism with one foot on each side, hanging on to the light and warily anticipating the encroaching dark. His poetry speaks of the darkness beyond and its dangers. His poetry speaks of those who escape to the dark for safety but fall in and become lost. But there is optimism in his poetry, which always speaks of the light, a light that is always present and can be found by one who doesn't give up hope and can be used to show the way home.

In the very darkness of Bob Mackenzie's poetry, there is always hope.

35 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2012

About the author

Bob MacKenzie has been a full-time self-supporting professional writer in both the commercial and literary fields since 1965. He began his career as a writer, editor, and producer in print and broadcast media while pursuing a literary career. Since the late-Eighties, Bob's concentrated on his literary career, writing short stories, novels, and poetry (including song lyrics), and performing words with music live on stage and in recordings.

Bob grew up in a photo studio in mid-century rural Alberta with artist parents. His father was a professional photographer and musician and his mother a photo technician, colourist, and painter. At a very young age, he was given his own camera. Ever since he's been shooting photographs and writing poems and stories. Raised in this environment, he quickly developed a natural affinity for photography and for the intricacies of language.

Bob's poetry has appeared in nearly 500 journals across North America and as far away as Great Britain, Australia, Greece, India, and Italy. Over the past half-century, Bob has published 20 volumes of poetry and prose-fiction and his writing has appeared in many anthologies around the world.

Bob has received numerous local and international awards for his writing as well as an Ontario Arts Council grant for literature, a Canada Council Grant for performance, and a Fellowship to attend the Summer Literary Seminars in Tbilisi, Georgia.

With the ensemble Poem de Terre, for eighteen years Bob's poetry has been spoken and sung live with original music and the group has released six albums.