Episode Details

“Every good story is two stories: the story of the place and the story of what happened to you as a result of being in that place” – Alden Jones

Eddy Harris (@EddyLHarris) is a writer, filmmaker, and author of Mississippi Solo, Native Stranger, and Still Life in Harlem. Alden Jones (@jones_alden) is an author and writer of The Blind Masseuse. Thomas Swick (@roostertie) is an author and writer of The Joys of Travel, A Way to See the World, and Unquiet Days.

In this episode of Deviate, Rolf, Eddy, Alden, and Thomas reflect on the legacy of Anthony Bourdain and the state of travel writing at large (3:00); common criticisms of travel writing (22:00); the notion of authenticity in travel and travel writing (34:00); what constitutes good travel writing, and the future of the genre (46:00).

Books mentioned:

• Kitchen Confidential, by Anthony Bourdain
• A Cook’s Tour, by Anthony Bourdain
• In Patagonia, by Bruce Chatwin
• Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert
• Wild, by Cheryl Strayed
• Abroad, by Paul Fussell
• The Pillars of Hercules, by Paul Theroux
• Go Tell the Crocodiles, by Rowan Moore Gerety
• White Man’s Game, by Stephanie Hanes
• Flaubert in Egypt, by Gustave Flaubert
• Video Night in Kathmandu, by Pico Iyer
• Figures in a Landscape, by Paul Theroux
• What Belongs to You, by Garth Greenwell (novel)

Authors, articles, and other notable links

• “Anthony Bourdain Did Not Speak Travelese,” by Rolf Potts
• “Around the World in 80 Hours (of Travel TV),” by Rolf Potts
• “Is Travel Writing Dead?” Granta essay by Colin Thubron
• “The danger of a single story,” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (TED Talk)
• Key West Literary Seminar (writing conference)
• Jan Morris (writer)
• Pico Iyer (writer)
• Tim Cahill (writer)
• Paul Theroux (writer)
• Ryszard Kapuściński (journalist)
• Bill Bryson (author)
• Gerald Brenan (writer)

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