New book of poetry reflects 87 years of life on northern Vancouver Island

After decades of living on Vancouver Island, Sally McMahon has amassed a considerable collection of poetry detailing her experiences in the island's north. 

Growing up in Port Hardy, B.C., McMahon said she sometimes took the area for granted, and had hoped to have a summer home in Vancouver's West End. 

But she certainly appreciated the wilderness that surrounded her, she said.

"I was taught to appreciate the rocks and rills and wildflowers and berries and the world around me," she told All Points West guest host Rohit Joseph. 

"It's a gift that has been given to me by my ancestors and I've tried to pass it on to my children as well."

Now, she's collaborating with longtime friend, artist Cynthia MacLean, on a book featuring McMahon's poems and MacLean's paintings, titled Spindrift: The Drama and Tranquility of a West Coast Vista, a look at life in Vancouver Island's wild north.

The pair met in the 1970s, and some mutual friends suggested years ago that they collaborate on a book, but life got in the way. 

That is, until the COVID-19 pandemic hit, MacLean retired, and the two were able to get to work. 

MacLean said anyone who lives near the ocean, or has a connection to it, will feel something when they read McMahon's work.

"When I read [Sally's] poetry or when she sometimes phones and tells me what she's written, I can relate extremely personally to it," MacLean said. 

"Just her sincerity, her simple honesty about what she sees and how she lives the way she does. I admire this woman very much."

The feeling is mutual. 

"I really admire Cynthia's work and always have," McMahon said. 

"The first person I showed the .. book [to] read maybe two poems and then was enraptured by Cynthia's paintings."

The book's title comes from a phenomenon observed when spray is blown by wind from the crests of waves.

"It's so beautiful and yet also it can be terrifying," said McMahon, who spent 10 years out on the water as a commercial fisher.

Spindrift will be available at select gift shops and aboard B.C. Ferries starting Dec. 1.