On Saturday, June 14, Mackenzie will give a 7 p.m. poetry reading at the newly relocated CalVada Museum in downtown Cedarville. The program, “An Evening of Cowboy Poetry with Annie Mackenzie,” will also include singer-songwriter Mike McCourt, who will “share songs about horses, camping, love and life.”
“I’ve written poetry forever,” says Mackenzie, 35. Several years ago she was horseback moving cows with her neighbors when she recited “a smart-alecky poem about my brother.” One of the listeners was so impressed that she urged Mackenzie to contact sponsors of the annual National Cowboy Poetry Gathering. Her first Elko visit was in 2018 and except for missing one. She’s been a fixture since then.
“I never would have imagined I could appear at Elko,” says Mackenzie. “I still feel like the new kid.”
She spends most of her days assisting her family tending cattle, starting horses, and helping to manage hers and her family’s pack of border collies – she has four, her brother has two, and her father has one. The ranch traces its lineage to her great-grandfather who immigrated from Scotland, was expanded by her grandfather, and is now owned by her father, Mark. They run Angus-Hereford hybrid cattle.
Mackenzie has worked a variety of office jobs, including construction, gathering wild horses for the Bureau of Land Management, teaching agriculture classes and serving as the FFA Advisor at the local high school – she still assists as a substitute – but she found herself returning home.
“I’ve done just about everything. Just keep ending up back on the ranch,” Mackenzie explains.
She says she’s back where she feels she belongs—out on the range with her family. Her love of the land and way of life has inspired many a poem and song about the animals and people that live and work on her beloved High Desert.
“I have been told that my poems sound like they were written at a trot, but it’s not something that I pay much mind to,” Mackenzie said of her poems in an interview with the Western Folklife Center. “They just sort of show up in my head and then I do my best to get them scribbled down before they’re gone. I do sometimes write poems out loud when I haven’t got something to write on, which means repeating lines over and over again, so I don’t forget them…which I’m sure my horse does not appreciate! I got caught once writing a song like that and I’m much more wary about it now. Honestly, when I ride, it’s mostly in silence. I do some pondering and a lot of arguing with myself, I lose every time. But in all seriousness, I enjoy the quiet of riding. Part of cowboying is learning the language of the animals you work with every day, and they don’t speak much either.”
Mackenzie said she offers a blend of poems during her readings, explaining, “Some are funny stories about things that have happened, and others are more introspective about ranching … I guess it’s kind of music to my ears, the word play. It’s something everybody can relate to, but it creates more emotion.”
Mackenzie has previously performed in Lakeview, but this will be her first Surprise Valley visit. While she enjoys sharing her poems with all groups of people, she expects the Cedarville performance will be meaningful because, “I like doing it with people who live and work on the ranch. It’s nice to share the ranching way of life.”
Opening entertainment will be provided by Mike McCourt, who got his first instrument, a tenor banjo, at 4 years old. Then went on to piano lessons in the third grade. After graduating from high school, he moved to Lassen County to work on the LC Smith Ranch near Susanville.
Working with cattle, horses and in the mountains gave him a true appreciation of rural life and ranching. Living in the high desert country led to him writing songs based on his experiences – songs about horses, camping, love and life. After his sons were born, he began writing songs for them, to sing around the campfires or while backpacking. Music, he says, has provided a way to share his life’s stories.
Tickets for the 7 p.m., June 14, event featuring cowboy poet Annie Mackenzie and singer- songwriter Mike McCourt is $27 at the door, $25 in advance. To purchase tickets, call or text 530-569-0254. Primary sponsors are The AG Mag and The Cattle Mag. Co-sponsors include Modoc County Cattlewomen, Old West Coffins, Lambert Ranch, Cressler House, Totalis Design & Print, Modoc Heritage Foundation, Sunrise Motel, Surprise Valley Healthcare District, Warner Mountain Weavers, Surprise Valley Chamber of Commerce, Modoc Auction Yard and Nevada Livestock Marketing.
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