In addition to your better consumer travel magazines, Internet travel magazines and even blogs often publish thoughtful narrative writing - and literary journals and general interest magazines occasionally run fantastic travel essays. It’s not that hard to find compelling, evocative travel writing out there. There are some talented people out there interpreting the postmodern travel landscape in interesting ways. One of the chapters in this book is about capturing sense of place, and Zinsser pinpoints the travel-writing clichés that still hold true today - and probably always will hold true for certain types of consumer and destination travel articles.Īll that said, I’m quite optimistic about contemporary travel writing.
When I teach nonfiction writing at the Paris American Academy each summer, I sometimes use On Writing Well, a classic text by William Zinsser that was written in the 1970’s. Of course the generic clichés of travel writing - the overwrought language and harebrained chirpiness - have always been a part of the genre. In the process, a lot of it can come off sounding generic and clichéd. Much of it is geared toward the consumer experience and hence it’s going to be more practical than artistic in nature. There are so many different kinds of travel writing, from service articles to literary narrative to destination features.
It’s hard to speak in generalities about “contemporary travel writing,” because this term encompasses so much.
What do you think about the state of contemporary travel writing? Your new book recounts various adventures to far-flung parts of the world, but it’s also an incisive look into life as a travel writer. is among the stops on his virtual book tour and we had the privilege of sitting down for an exclusive Q&A session with Rolf. Just released this week is his latest book, Marco Polo Didn’t Go There – a collection of his funniest, boldest and most intriguing tales to date. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission.
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