Michael Shoemaker is a gifted, rising voice from the Mountain West. His first collection, Rocky Mountain Reflections, is a heartfelt, thoughtful, and oftentimes powerful debut. An ecosystem of engaging poetry, prose, short stories, and photography, this collection grows your faith, feeds the soul, and nourishes your belief in the goodness of the human condition. Shoemaker’s vision of the world in which he lives inspires me. This is an absolute joy to read and remember.
In more depth, Shoemaker evokes in his poetry and prose the spirit of his mom, dad, family, ancient apostles, and even God, to weave a beautiful tapestry of the humanity of humankind. Short stories about his past life, experiences living in the Rocky Mountains, and highlights of his spiritual beliefs, especially how God works inside the framework of his life are key moments not easily forgotten.
This collection is a meditation of one’s man hope. Shoemaker’s hope for humanity is boundless.
This collection shows a master at work, crafting memorable and life-affirming and inspiring poems, prose, and photography.
This collection is full of humanity toward the people in and out of the circles of his life. I comprehend some of the scenes in the collection that correlate to this—playing dominos with a delightful relative, considering the simple glory of man, considering what Shoemaker would do to eat his wife’s crepes, or the joy of receiving a gift. Truly, this incandescent collection is a cascade of truths and insights from a life lived and experienced.
This collection at times is a prayer, which “help[s] us to see the grace of God in our lives.” His faith in things, especially of God, is effusive and ever-present.
When I think of Shoemaker’s craft and skills, I feature some of the best of adjectives—delightful, poignant, inspiring, beautiful, bright, empathetic, kindhearted, compassionate, creative, caring, excellent, engaging, entertaining, expressive, and even educational.
Shoemaker paints vivid images as succinct and clear as his own spectacular photography. We are right there with him when he is witnessing the beauty of “boiling billowing white clouds” or a butterfly reach and land high on the pine treetops in the High Uinta Mountains; when he sees the beauty of a spiderweb high in the forests; when he turns the dirt in his backyard in order to plant a spring garden; when he describes the glorious and delightful taste of a peach; when he paints the childhood memory of buying ten hamburgers for a dollar in Anaheim, California; or even when he describes the experience of hiking to the headwaters of a river only to discover that goodness springs from God.
Indeed, Rocky Mountain Reflections is a highly original and at times breathtaking debut collection. Celebrate it by purchasing your own copy. It’s perfect for your library or for your coffee table where guests, family and friends can browse and read from its pages.
Rocky Mountain Reflections by Michael Shoemaker
Poets Choice, September, 2023
108 pages
Michael Parker is a poet of the award-winning collection Divining the Spirits in the House of the Hush and Hush and President-Elect of the Utah State Poetry Society.
Heart of Flesh Literary Journal 