Steve Kenney has been an OARS boatman since 2003. For decades, he’s been “scribbling” on scraps of paper tucked into ammo cans and journals between rapids, documenting the highs, the lows, and the colorful characters of the river in his journals.

Those notes have finally flowed together into his first book: Scribblins - Poetry from Mountains, Deserts and Rivers. In his signature, no-nonsense style, Steve shares about the wild and wonderful life of a river guide from the raw adrenaline of the big runs to the serene, quiet moments in between.

What started as Steve’s personal journals over the decades, easily turned into stories around the campfire on river trips. Then, inspired by the river lifestyle, it further morphed into cowboy poetry, scribbled down on scraps of paper tucked into books and ammo cans. Eloquently and intimately described in his no-nonsense way, Steve brings the places, rivers and characters he knows to life for the reader. The nuances of life as a river guide, the highs and lows, the joys and challenges, are artfully detailed, much more than simply boating.

Beginning with tales of rivers and rapids, you feel the excitement of big runs through rapids, but also the serene calmness being in beautiful wild places. Steve shares colorful characters he has met on roadside stops between river locations, and those guides and clients who made trips
unforgettable. Memories of places from before his river days bring context to Steve’s choice of lifestyle; he did at one time have an office job where he was home every night. Here he explains through poetry why he made this choice. Steve openly describes hardships and loss, and the importance acknowledging and remembering.

Scribblins is a compilation decades in the making, which gives beautiful insight into the wild and wonderful life of a river guide.