S6 Ep. 47: Lit Hub’s American Vacation: Novelist Julie Schumacher on How We Travel Now

As summer draws to an end, Thurber Prize-winning novelist Julie Schumacher joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to talk about the state of the American vacation and how holidays are portrayed in literature. Schumacher discusses her new comic novel, The English Experience, a sequel to Dear Committee Members that focuses on university professor Jay Fitger leading a study abroad trip to England. She reflects on favorite travel narratives, how technology has changed the way we vacation, and the ethics of tourism in relation to colonialism and climate change. She reads from The English Experience. 

To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/

This episode of the podcast was produced by Anne Kniggendorf.

Julie Schumacher

The English Experience

The Shakespeare Requirement

Dear Committee Members

"Was This Student Dangerous?"- The New York Times, June 18, 2014

Others:

The Parent Trap (1961)

Henry James

The Art of Travel by Alain de Botton

Voyage Around My Room by Xavier de Maistre 

Baby-sitters on Board! by Ann M. Martin

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

The British Museum

Rich in Love by Josephine Humphreys

A Small Place by Jamaica Kincaid

The 31 Places to Go in 2010 - The New York Times

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