Writing the West Coast: In Love with Place.

Ann Turner is Financial and Budget Manager at the University of British
Columbia Library.

The 34 writers represented in this anthology come from diverse backgrounds, but they have two things in common: a passion for the special qualities of life on the remote west coast of British Columbia, and the ability to express their love of the place so eloquently it can move the reader to tears. Most of the essays are set in the area around Clayoquot Sound, including Tofino, Long Beach, and Ucluelet. Backdrops also include the Queen Charlottes and the Broughton Archipelago as well as other locales on the west coast of Vancouver Island. Their common theme is the personal relationship the writers feel they have with the wild and threatened beauty of the west coast, and how it has affected their lives. These are appealing, thoughtful, introspective pieces, written from the heart. Some of the contributors (Susan Musgrave, Brian Brett, and Alexandra Morton, for example) are familiar names and others are not. But they are all skillful and expressive writers. Their essays and the exceptionally beautiful photographs that enhance the anthology capture the essence of life and nature on the west coast.