Poet Richard Olafson celebrates the mystical experience of the Pacific Coast’s Gulf Islands in his latest collection, Island in the Light. Drawn from a series of chapbooks of writing from a period of residency on the small island called Saturna, Island in the Light brings together Olafson’s lyric celebration of coastal nature in a stirring, sensual volume. Resonant with eagle cries, ferry horns, sea and sky, rocky cliffs, forest paths, tangled roots of Arbutus, wild berries and starry nights. Island in the Light is a classic work of west coast poetry, both subtle and accessible. For anyone who has spent time on the islands, and those who cherish the dream of a magic isle, Island in the Light will linger in the imagination and the heart.

Richard Olafson is an editor, poet, book designer and publisher. A long-time Victoria resident, he is active in many community organizations. Olafson has published a number of books and chapbooks, among them Blood of the Moon, Cloud on My Tongue, and There Are Some So Unlucky They Do Not Even Have Bodies. He attended the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics in its second year of operation and was much influenced the following year by taking classes from Warren Tallman at UBC’s English Department. He is also the publisher of the Pacific Rim Review of Books. He lives in Victoria with his family.

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