Comments on: What is travel writing? http://perceptivetravel.com/blog/2008/03/28/what-is-travel-writing/ Travel stories, world music, travel books, and a close peek at unique destinations. Mon, 13 Oct 2008 20:05:02 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.2 By: Antonia Malchik http://perceptivetravel.com/blog/2008/03/28/what-is-travel-writing/#comment-34805 Antonia Malchik Fri, 28 Mar 2008 18:16:15 +0000 http://perceptivetravel.com/blog/2008/03/28/what-is-travel-writing/#comment-34805 Thanks, Pam :-) And I'm ashamed to say I haven't read The Road yet! Well, I read a lot--there's always a stack of waiting-to-be-reads, so I get delayed on more recent stuff. From what I've read _about_ it, I'd say that it could probably qualify under my definition, except don't we then open the whole genre up to, say, science fiction and fantasy? Think of it--all the wandering Middle Earth-type fantasy books. Hey, Lord of the Rings! I love it, but ... a travel book? About where? Think of the glossy mag essays: "Rivendell's 20 Undiscovered Waterfalls" or "Facing the Blackness: One Man's Journey through Moria." How about Dune and its sequels? And at least half of Ray Bradbury's short stories. Admittedly, I did review The World Without Us, which I scraped onto this blog because the author visits and writes about (very evocatively, I thought) a lot of places in the here and now. But I was interested in the nonexistent world he describes. Maybe I should rethink this--a strong sense of a real place? (Don't let's get into metaphysics and philosophy and wondering about reality and the old claim by Heraclitus that "you can never step in the same river twice.") Thanks, Pam :-) And I’m ashamed to say I haven’t read The Road yet! Well, I read a lot–there’s always a stack of waiting-to-be-reads, so I get delayed on more recent stuff. From what I’ve read _about_ it, I’d say that it could probably qualify under my definition, except don’t we then open the whole genre up to, say, science fiction and fantasy?

Think of it–all the wandering Middle Earth-type fantasy books. Hey, Lord of the Rings! I love it, but … a travel book? About where? Think of the glossy mag essays: “Rivendell’s 20 Undiscovered Waterfalls” or “Facing the Blackness: One Man’s Journey through Moria.” How about Dune and its sequels? And at least half of Ray Bradbury’s short stories.

Admittedly, I did review The World Without Us, which I scraped onto this blog because the author visits and writes about (very evocatively, I thought) a lot of places in the here and now. But I was interested in the nonexistent world he describes.

Maybe I should rethink this–a strong sense of a real place? (Don’t let’s get into metaphysics and philosophy and wondering about reality and the old claim by Heraclitus that “you can never step in the same river twice.”)

]]> By: pam http://perceptivetravel.com/blog/2008/03/28/what-is-travel-writing/#comment-34800 pam Fri, 28 Mar 2008 16:08:15 +0000 http://perceptivetravel.com/blog/2008/03/28/what-is-travel-writing/#comment-34800 First, this cracks me up: Collections of essays that include stories of “look at me getting drunk or finding my soul or kayaking a random river away from home” leave me cold. And is very true. Especially the soul finding part. Yawn. Secondly, what did you think of Cormac McCarthy's The Road? Travel book or no? First, this cracks me up:

Collections of essays that include stories of “look at me getting drunk or finding my soul or kayaking a random river away from home” leave me cold.

And is very true. Especially the soul finding part. Yawn.

Secondly, what did you think of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road? Travel book or no?

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