Edwin Riley, Ph.D.
Professor, journalist, psychotherapist, poet, sailor. Author of the memoir Captain Madness: Living the Life of Riley.
A fiercely honest and often humorous account of a life lived beyond convention, shaped by spiritual inquiry, cultural observation, and a deep questioning of what it means to live fully. From academia to the circus, radio to the sea, Edwin Riley moves through serendipity, challenge, and inner awakening, on a path guided more by intuition than expectation.
Ecological consciousness explored through interconnected poems and reflections, with room to write your own.
One hundred and three practical prescriptions for stress, from four decades of practice.
Poetry. Nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.
Out of print
Edwin Riley has spent most of his life following curiosity rather than a career plan. Along the way he has been a radio disc jockey, newspaper reporter, professor, poet, psychotherapist, yacht captain, circus clown, actor, bartender and more.
He has covered politics and Apollo 17, taught college students, lived aboard sailboats, and spent decades exploring stress, consciousness and the question of how to live fully. A phone call to Lawrence Ferlinghetti helped set in motion Energy Consciousness Weekend at the University of Florida with Allen Ginsberg, Michael McClure and Gary Snyder. His poetry collection Confront Reality was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.
None of it was a plan.
His memoir, Captain Madness: Living the Life of Riley, gathers those threads into a fiercely honest and frequently funny account of a life guided more by curiosity than expectation. He lives in South Florida, and he is not finished.
October 14, 2026 · 11:00 AM
North Palm Beach Library, North Palm Beach, Florida
Edwin is available for author talks, library programs, interviews and selected events. He speaks about Captain Madness, stress and mind-body work, ecological consciousness, and the stories and choices that shaped an unconventional life.
“The ‘Johnny Appleseed’ of happiness.”
New writing, new recordings, and where Edwin will be next.
Stay tuned. Mischief in the making.
