I really, really liked this article! Especially your analysis of the Forbes article, “Why No One Cares About Your Travels.” I must admit, it gave me a lot to think about, given that my own newsletter is partly related to travel. Thank you for prompting such reflections!
To answer your questions:
1) A couple of years ago, I came across an article by Tom Chesshyre in The Critic titled “Too woke to travel write?” where the author reviews the causes behind the disappearance of travel literature books in bookshops all over the globe. According to him (and other authors he mentions) these include: easier travel access, the Internet, influencers’ travel content gaining momentum, as well as the criticism towards what has historically been the prototype of the travel writer — a white, highly educated man. I especially agree on the easier access to travel and the rising popularity of travel content on social media as causes behind the disappearance of the genre.
2) As for travel books I found inspiring and that really marked me as a person, I would mention Anatomy of Restlessness by Bruce Chatwin (who is now one of the men being targeted in the above-mentioned criticism, lol), and even more, My Life on the Road by Gloria Steinhem and Blue Highways by William Least Heat-Moon.
Thank you! Really pleased to hear this. Yeah I think that makes a lot of sense, the travel content on social media does seem to have morphed a lot skewing toward highly condensed video content. While I think a lot of it can be really great in showing people the world, they still rarely get to the deeper meanings to why someone is out traveling and how their travels are impacting them. Those are the stories I want to hear and seem lacking in a lot of content today which I hope will have a resurgence of that style of travel writing.
Also, great recommendations! I've read Chatwin's 'In Patagonia' and 'The Songlines' and have had 'Anatomy of Restlessness' on my "to read" list forever. Seems like it's time to bump that one up on the list. Adding the others you mentioned to that list as well. Thank you for the thoughtful feedback Caterina! :)
An Army brat, I have always traveled. It is not traveling that is embedded in my brain as a novelty (9 years in Idaho? Nearly 10 in Orlando?). As a retiree I have returned to my default and now travel full-time. One of the first books I read about travel was The Art of Travel by Alain de Botton—it’s a must read for anyone serious about traveling. And the essay in that book that describes my own endgame? I will eventually travel without going anywhere when this body or mind is more vexed than elevated by physically traveling. Xavier de Maistre’s Journey around My Bedroom, the OG of virtual travel, long before the internet.
I like stories that are entertaining, amusing, and tell me something about the human condition. But that doesn't mean it has to be a one of a kind trip that sets some kind of record.
A story that provides a telling insight in a familiar place can be more worthwhile than a story about someone climbing a mountain no one else's climb before.
I find so much about this topic circles back to the performative nature of social media and the reasons WHY travel have changed. Chasing the perfect selfie, bragging rights for your “followers” to see, the ease of GPS’ing yourself to Starbucks. I think the whole definition of the word travel has shifted to mean different things to everyone.
I think there's a lot of truth to that Jonathan. Social media has really democratized the telling of one's story. On the surface, that seems like a good thing, but I think there's a lot of temptation and bad incentives for people to either embellish, exaggerate, or outright lie about their own narrative, especially when you are younger--it's a strange phenomena to want to be an "influencer" before you've cultivated a set of meaningful skills, a hard-fought life story, and keen lessons to impart on others. Everyone wants their story to be extraordinary and that's also what easily captivates an audience. However, the truly quality travel and adventure writing, to my mind, isn't necessarily about the dramatic, but is far more subtle, introspective, and trying to get at deeper truths about the world and humanity which unfortunately doesn't seem to pique the interests of as many people as one would hope.
Totally agree with you. And there’s a nuance worth understanding about the social media approach. They don’t seek experiences that ARE interesting, they just want to LOOK interesting, and to the general phone engrossed general public, that may come in the form of a selfie in front of the leaning tower of Pisa. As long as they look hot, they’re a “real” traveler. People don’t want to BE something, they want to appear as something.
The other thing I’ll say about the media landscape, having been published by a pretty diverse editorial roster, the beautiful adventure + travel stories do have a home, but two truths are always present: you’ll rarely get the time of day from them and you’ll almost always be giving them your work for free. Those two factors continuously point me to substack. Tadaa! Lol
Great piece. I too have been considering this issue in connection with writing in general. For me the best travel writing is about the experience and the challenges that evoke a response. As I point out in my journal article today, we writers need a foil to stimulate a response. In good travel writing that foil is the unforeseen adventure or the surprise uncovered along the way. https://open.substack.com/pub/davidwzoll/p/ordering-the-beauty?r=3a09av&utm_medium=ios
Thank you! The book is a nonfiction anthropological look into travel and adventure and it examines the question of how society and culture may be inhibiting many of us from incorporating more adventure into our lives, what the role of fear plays, and how we can overcome and benefit from travel and adventure. I tell it through a narrative of my time backpacking the Appalachian Trail and the lessons that that experience offered me.
Okay that will be good. I'm working on a fiction manuscript which is set over a months-long thru-hike. If you ever want a beta reader for your book, let me know!
It's a fictional trail, as the manuscript leans magical realism. But the start of the trail is very AT inspired. The rest of it is based on trails I've hiked over the years in different countries.
But yeah I'm totally free and available to be a beta reader, so just let me know. I'm learning the value of such readers myself!
I can't speak to adventure writing as a whole, but I am fully committed to writing my own. I try to make it much more than a look-what-I-did account by weaving in philosophical musing and artistic photography from the journey. I think the lessons learned from our adventure experiences are where the value is found, and I really hope to find more of it.
Check out Niki Elle's Substack "Full of Life" for this type of adventure writing!
Totally agree with that Erik! Yeah I’m searching for more of the deeply personal, the philosophical, and artistic expressions of travel and adventure. I will definitely look into this. Thank you for engaging and sharing! Cheers!
I'm happy to learn that I can finally manage my hair in the back country. On a more serious note, I speculate that, thanks to blogs, there is no shortage of current adventure/travel writing. There may be a shortage of adventure/travel reading. However, I think the imbalance is consistent with the overall excess of content compared to demand across all categories.
I really, really liked this article! Especially your analysis of the Forbes article, “Why No One Cares About Your Travels.” I must admit, it gave me a lot to think about, given that my own newsletter is partly related to travel. Thank you for prompting such reflections!
To answer your questions:
1) A couple of years ago, I came across an article by Tom Chesshyre in The Critic titled “Too woke to travel write?” where the author reviews the causes behind the disappearance of travel literature books in bookshops all over the globe. According to him (and other authors he mentions) these include: easier travel access, the Internet, influencers’ travel content gaining momentum, as well as the criticism towards what has historically been the prototype of the travel writer — a white, highly educated man. I especially agree on the easier access to travel and the rising popularity of travel content on social media as causes behind the disappearance of the genre.
2) As for travel books I found inspiring and that really marked me as a person, I would mention Anatomy of Restlessness by Bruce Chatwin (who is now one of the men being targeted in the above-mentioned criticism, lol), and even more, My Life on the Road by Gloria Steinhem and Blue Highways by William Least Heat-Moon.
Thank you! Really pleased to hear this. Yeah I think that makes a lot of sense, the travel content on social media does seem to have morphed a lot skewing toward highly condensed video content. While I think a lot of it can be really great in showing people the world, they still rarely get to the deeper meanings to why someone is out traveling and how their travels are impacting them. Those are the stories I want to hear and seem lacking in a lot of content today which I hope will have a resurgence of that style of travel writing.
Also, great recommendations! I've read Chatwin's 'In Patagonia' and 'The Songlines' and have had 'Anatomy of Restlessness' on my "to read" list forever. Seems like it's time to bump that one up on the list. Adding the others you mentioned to that list as well. Thank you for the thoughtful feedback Caterina! :)
Ooooh those books you mentioned sound well worth checking out. Thanks!
An Army brat, I have always traveled. It is not traveling that is embedded in my brain as a novelty (9 years in Idaho? Nearly 10 in Orlando?). As a retiree I have returned to my default and now travel full-time. One of the first books I read about travel was The Art of Travel by Alain de Botton—it’s a must read for anyone serious about traveling. And the essay in that book that describes my own endgame? I will eventually travel without going anywhere when this body or mind is more vexed than elevated by physically traveling. Xavier de Maistre’s Journey around My Bedroom, the OG of virtual travel, long before the internet.
Thank you for the recommendations! Will soon be reading these. And thanks for engaging and sharing your thoughts. ☺️
I like stories that are entertaining, amusing, and tell me something about the human condition. But that doesn't mean it has to be a one of a kind trip that sets some kind of record.
A story that provides a telling insight in a familiar place can be more worthwhile than a story about someone climbing a mountain no one else's climb before.
I find so much about this topic circles back to the performative nature of social media and the reasons WHY travel have changed. Chasing the perfect selfie, bragging rights for your “followers” to see, the ease of GPS’ing yourself to Starbucks. I think the whole definition of the word travel has shifted to mean different things to everyone.
I think there's a lot of truth to that Jonathan. Social media has really democratized the telling of one's story. On the surface, that seems like a good thing, but I think there's a lot of temptation and bad incentives for people to either embellish, exaggerate, or outright lie about their own narrative, especially when you are younger--it's a strange phenomena to want to be an "influencer" before you've cultivated a set of meaningful skills, a hard-fought life story, and keen lessons to impart on others. Everyone wants their story to be extraordinary and that's also what easily captivates an audience. However, the truly quality travel and adventure writing, to my mind, isn't necessarily about the dramatic, but is far more subtle, introspective, and trying to get at deeper truths about the world and humanity which unfortunately doesn't seem to pique the interests of as many people as one would hope.
Totally agree with you. And there’s a nuance worth understanding about the social media approach. They don’t seek experiences that ARE interesting, they just want to LOOK interesting, and to the general phone engrossed general public, that may come in the form of a selfie in front of the leaning tower of Pisa. As long as they look hot, they’re a “real” traveler. People don’t want to BE something, they want to appear as something.
The other thing I’ll say about the media landscape, having been published by a pretty diverse editorial roster, the beautiful adventure + travel stories do have a home, but two truths are always present: you’ll rarely get the time of day from them and you’ll almost always be giving them your work for free. Those two factors continuously point me to substack. Tadaa! Lol
Great piece. I too have been considering this issue in connection with writing in general. For me the best travel writing is about the experience and the challenges that evoke a response. As I point out in my journal article today, we writers need a foil to stimulate a response. In good travel writing that foil is the unforeseen adventure or the surprise uncovered along the way. https://open.substack.com/pub/davidwzoll/p/ordering-the-beauty?r=3a09av&utm_medium=ios
Thanks! Same to you David and totally agree with your comment. I really like that quote on brooding too. Thanks for engaging and safe travels!
Interesting - I wrote something of a rebuttal to Ned Donovan's recent post which takes a more pessimistic view on similar ideas: https://shoreleave.substack.com/p/like-shining-from-shook-foil
Love your writing - tell us more about the upcoming book?
Thank you! The book is a nonfiction anthropological look into travel and adventure and it examines the question of how society and culture may be inhibiting many of us from incorporating more adventure into our lives, what the role of fear plays, and how we can overcome and benefit from travel and adventure. I tell it through a narrative of my time backpacking the Appalachian Trail and the lessons that that experience offered me.
Awesome! When will it be available?
Hoping by the end of 2024 or early 2025. ☺️
Okay that will be good. I'm working on a fiction manuscript which is set over a months-long thru-hike. If you ever want a beta reader for your book, let me know!
Oh that would be great! I will keep that in mind. Thank you! And that sounds interesting. Is it a thru-hike of the AT or another long distance trail?
It's a fictional trail, as the manuscript leans magical realism. But the start of the trail is very AT inspired. The rest of it is based on trails I've hiked over the years in different countries.
But yeah I'm totally free and available to be a beta reader, so just let me know. I'm learning the value of such readers myself!
Thank you for this thoughtful post, and a great read.
Thank you! 😊
I can't speak to adventure writing as a whole, but I am fully committed to writing my own. I try to make it much more than a look-what-I-did account by weaving in philosophical musing and artistic photography from the journey. I think the lessons learned from our adventure experiences are where the value is found, and I really hope to find more of it.
Check out Niki Elle's Substack "Full of Life" for this type of adventure writing!
Totally agree with that Erik! Yeah I’m searching for more of the deeply personal, the philosophical, and artistic expressions of travel and adventure. I will definitely look into this. Thank you for engaging and sharing! Cheers!
I'm happy to learn that I can finally manage my hair in the back country. On a more serious note, I speculate that, thanks to blogs, there is no shortage of current adventure/travel writing. There may be a shortage of adventure/travel reading. However, I think the imbalance is consistent with the overall excess of content compared to demand across all categories.