MacKenzie is the 2020 Winner of the Society of Classical Poets Competition and the only American to have won the Scottish International Poetry Competition, as noted in The Times Literary Supplement (January, 2017). While obtaining his B.A. (Humaniores Literae) at St. John’s College, he won the Henry M. Austin Poetry Prize for several translations of French Renaissance poetry into Middle English. He went on to receive an M.A. in French Studies (Minor in Italian) at the University of New Mexico where he also taught undergraduate French courses.

MacKenzie taught modern languages in a traditional French lycée, is a former Poet in Residence at the Club des Poètes (Paris), acted as Literary Consultant for the production of Rimbaud et Verlaine at the Théâtre des Déchargeurs (Paris), and studied verse technique with Mme Colette Lecourt. He has recited poetry (always from memory) in France , Italy, Scotland, and the United States.

He entered the religious life and studied traditional theology in France, Switzerland, Italy, and back in the United States. MacKenzie is ordained in the traditional Minor Orders (Porter, Lector, Acolyte, Exorcist) but left the clerical state. He later married the Fair Lady of the Sonnets who inspires many of his poems.

MacKenzie’s verses have appeared in The New York Times, The Scotsman (Edinburg), The Independent (London), The Society of Classical Poets (New York,), Trinacria (New York), and elsewhere. He has been covered by US News and World Report, Google News, Reddit, and other venues.