A sorrow has taken root in my heart, and although it hurts every day I know there is a place where we laugh together under an open sky.
To that sanctuary, I am travelling.
This is that story.
STANLEY PARK is a collection of 35 poems from PARABLES author Sapphira Olson charting the story of two lovers through history as they are separated and then reunited all within the island of Stanley Park in Vancouver. Olson weaves a beautiful and poignant narrative through a progression of emotional poetry taking the reader on a journey of hope driven by love.
Incorporating poems inspired by Squamish Nation history & legends, the collection explores themes of immortality, love, loss, the nature of consciousness and culture.
Stanley Park itself is a beautiful 405-hectare public park that borders the downtown of Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada and is mostly surrounded by waters of Burrard Inlet and English Bay. The park has a long history and was one of the first areas to be explored in the city.
"What shall it profit you if you turn the whole world into a gasometer and lose your own souls?"
Thomas H. Mawson about Stanley Park in his 1912 address to the Canadian Club.
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[So we met again this morning / I was in the red hue cast from the sunrise / the mist swirling around your feet / the dew dripping from your fingers - ABORETUM]***
(Blam Productions, 24 December 2019, 1 hour 28 minutes, copy from @audibleuk via the poet, narrated by Julianne Meaney)
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I loved this collection of poetry. I was impressed by both the quality of the poems and the quality of the audiobook. I know nothing about the actual Stanley Park and I loved the way the landscape and history of the place is woven through the poems. I also loved the way many of the poems touch on history and legends, none of which were familiar but all I found fascinating and engrossing. I'm a suck for love poems and poems about loss so many of the poems spoke to me. Meaney did an excellent job of narrating the audiobook and I loved listening to her voice. She really bought the poems to life. Stanley Park is pretty fantastic.
