To the Man of the High North

Description

Despite the fact that Robert William Service was “only” a store clerk in British Columbia, his life was one of a broad spectrum of adventures, pursuits, successes and mishaps which, together with the passion for reading poetry in his youth, has led him on the path to becoming known as “The Bard of the Yukon” and publishing many books and works of poetry throughout his lifetime.

To the Man of the High North is only one of Service’s collection of 39 poems revolving around his life in the Yukon and British Columbia, as well as his years roaming the territories of North America, from Mexico to Northern Canada. The poem paints a clear, colorful and remarkably powerful picture of life in the Yukon, and is basically like an ode to mountaineers, prospectors and all other men who venture into the wild, unforgiving, yet – as Service portrays it – astonishingly beautiful environment of the Yukon.

During the time of his adventure-filled youth, Service took many risks, and found himself almost starving in Mexico, or taking various jobs in California. In the end, he established himself in British Columbia, where his talents as a poet have earned him a great reputation and remarkable financial success. His own colorful life experiences have enabled him to portray the struggles, difficulties, but also the rewards that the men of the High North have been part of during the Gold Rush.

Service manages to bring to life the magical, wildly mesmerizing image of the mountains and rivers that carve their mysterious paths for the men of the High North to follow. His words bring detail, dimension and an expanded, soothing perspective to the life that these brave men have experienced, expressing his own admiration for their pursuits. The Men of the High North has remained, throughout the past hundred years, one of the most descriptively rich and beautiful account of the Yukon’s vast wilderness.
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