So much of our travels can be enjoyed through the prism of literature. Some writers are intrinsically connected to a destination and you can still visit places associated with them. Just a very few examples:
Miguel Cervantes with Alcalá de Henares, Spain
Agatha Christie with Devon, England
Isak Dineson (Karen Blixen) with Kenya
Ian Fleming with Jamaica
Gabriel García Márquez with northern Colombia
Thomas Hardy with Dorset, England
Ernest Hemingway with Key West, Florida
Franz Kafka with Prague
James Joyce with Dublin
R.K. Narayan with Madras (Chennai), India
Pablo Neruda with Valparaíso and Viña del Mar, Chile
Tennessee Williams with New Orleans
The literary travel possibilities are nearly endless - have a read!
Comments
I'd like to introduce City of the Green-Eyed Beauty, a literary guide to Istanbul, following the footsteps of Orhan Pamuk, Barbara Nadel and Pierre Loti. Three very different writers with one thing in common: fascination with Istanbul.
Interesting choice of reading, Terence. I just searched for the book and wound up reading an article on Wikipedia, for what that's worth. It gave me the impression that Mandeville was a little short on reportorial objectivity, but probably no worse than Fox News.
Just finished Sir John Mandeville's The Travels of Sir John Mandeville, published in 1365. It is entertaining and informative (I now have stored in my memory both the Anglicised and Greek names for the Three Wise Men, for instance), but one critic suggested that the longest journey Sir John Mandeville made might have been to the nearest library. Mandeville does state that the world is round, though, and this was many years before Galileo proved it, which was a heretical belief in both of their times. Some state that the author was from Belgium, although he has an English name. Worth reading for some juicy details and for his mostly nonjudgmental views.
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Tempting recommendations, Terry. In addition, I always tip my hat to people who manage to read two books at one time.
I am currently reading two books that cover travel and two of my big interests or pet delights: birding and amateur English travellers, which includes my own good self, albeit most likely on a less scale.
The first tome is American Peter Matthiessen's ode to the crane, Birds from Heaven, which took Matthiessen to such places as Bhutan, Florida, South Africa, Japan, China and Russia.
I personally spend a lot of time birding, and I heartily recommend it as a way of getting majestically away from the usual tourism haunts, although in some spots birding is the main tourism draw.
The second book, which I am reading right now, is from an old favourite, Eric Newby. It is A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush, which is the wonderful tale of two unprepared travellers off on a whim and armed with only curiosity to climb a 20,000-foot-plus peak in the Himalayas. There is a long tradition of the innocent Englishman abroad, and perhaps we can be accused of arrogance, not an aggressive arrogance, but an arrogance nonetheless born of the probably misguided notion that we are welcome everywhere. It's a fantastic read.
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English Poetry & Creative-n-Content Writings
Thanks for the recommendation, Cara. Kauai is among the most beautiful places I have ever been, if not the most beautiful. I am off to France and Italy at the end of next week and have been saving Eric Newby's A Small Place in Italy. He is among my favourite travel writers. I am sure you realise that the English under Captain James Cook named the Hawaiian Islands the Sandwich Islands, after the voyage's patron, the Earl of Sandwich, one of whom also gave his name for a popular snack of something placed between two slices of bread.
I love books that tell a great story but I want to learn something at the same time. I knew that since Tripatini member Linda Ballou was a travel writer that I would learn about Hawaii but what I didn't realize is that she is a beautiful writer. This story takes place at the time in history where the Hawaiians are introduced to the Europeans as seen from the Hawaiian viewpoint. It is a story about a strong woman living in a country warlike country. Just get that picture of peaceful Hawaiians out of your head. She weaves a tale that keeps you intrigued all the way to the end. This is a great read about a fierce heroine. In fact, I liked the story so much I asked Linda to do an interview for my blog. Follow this link to read her interview. http://thebesttravelnovels.blogspot.com/2011/10/travel-to-hawaii-wi...
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