Has Travel Writing Become Journalism’s Tiramisu?
Travel Blog • Michael Yessis • 06.14.01 | 8:58 AM ET
South Florida Sun-Sentinel travel editor Thomas Swick argues so in the May/June Columbia Journalism Review. Most newspaper and magazine writing has become boring and empty, he writes, distilling travel into “nothing more than a series of negotiable transactions.” Right on.
The things that drive us to risk exposure to armed rebels or five-hour delays at O’Hare are often the things missing from newspaper and magazine travel stories. We’re treated to ‘quaint’ places and ‘rustic’ places and stories containing variations of the phrase “my husband, Ken, and I,” but what about the people you met who caused you to see things in a different way? What about transcendence? What about seduction? It’s honest interaction between people and cultures that entices travelers, and, in turn, readers.
“We learn through human contact, and the knowledge that we gain is of infinitely greater value than any number of practical tips,” writes Swick. “Enlightenment and love—there are no more compelling reasons to travel, or write about it.”
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Michael Yessis is the cofounder and coeditor-in-chief of World Hum.
