About this item
An island is a world out of time and place, separated by literal and figurative oceans, where the confines of reality are tenuous and magic may be possible. Iceland - with its relative isolation, enchanting mythologies, creative people, and the otherworldly wild beauty of its glaciers, geysers, volcanos, and fjords - encompases this special magic in the minds of many, including writer Kurt Caswell.. Vividly illustrated by Julia Oldham, Iceland Summer recounts Caswell's journey traversing the country by foot and bus accompanied by his lifelong friend Scott. The pair set out from Reykjavík and travel clockwise along the Ring Road, stopping along the way for backcountry walking trips. Caswell immerses himself in the natural beauty and charming eccentricities of the tiny island nation.
About the Author
Kurt Caswell was born in Fairbanks, Alaska, and grew up in the Cascade Range in Oregon. He has worked as a teacher in Hokkaido, Japan; on the Navajo Reservation; and at schools in Arizona, California, and Wyoming. He holds an MA in English from the Bread Loaf School of English at Middlebury College, and an MFA in literature and creative writing from Bennington College, where he was recipient of the Lucy Grealy Memorial Scholarship. He was a 2001 fellow at Fishtrap writers' conference, and a 2007 fellow at the MacDowell Colony. He has been nominated for six Pushcart Prizes.Caswell's newest book of nonfiction is LAIKA'S WINDOW: THE LEGACY OF A SOVIET SPACE DOG. He is also the author of GETTING TO GREY OWL: JOURNEYS ON FOUR CONTINENTS, IN THE SUN'S HOUSE: MY YEAR TEACHING ON THE NAVAJO RESERVATION, and AN INSIDE PASSAGE, which won the 2008 River Teeth Literary Nonfiction Book Prize.He has taught in the MFA program at Vermont College of Fine Arts, and is professor of creative writing and literature in the Honors College at Texas Tech University. He lives in Lubbock, Texas.
