Literary Nomads | Waywords Studio

By Steve ChisnellSociety & Culture Education Arts Books

Literary Nomads | Waywords Studio episodes

October 24Waypoint: Montgomery’s “Min”
A rarely met short story by Montgomery, and a bit darker than her Anne books.
Resources:
Montgomery, L. M.“Min,” 1903.
Waypoint –
Reading of “Min,” by Lucy Maud Montgomery
(pdf of this work)
Skeptical Pilgrim Challenges:
The Grand Tour - PDF
Packing Lists - PDF
Author Footprints - PDF
Mapping Dreams - PDF
Building Fantasies – PDF
Dark Montgomery - PDF
Complete Resources: https://waywordsstudio.com/project/literary-tourism/
CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
00:52 Title: “Min”
01:06 Reading: “Min” (1903)
31:17 Outro

===
Transcript and Full Bibliography: https://waywordsstudio.com/general/transcript/waypoint-transcript-montgomerys-min

New to Literary Nomads?
Check out my introductory episodes (0.1-0.3) to find out what’s going on here! I’ve got an episode for readers, for teachers, and for students: https://waywordsstudio.com/podcasts/waywords-podcast/
Have a Question? Want to Comment? Literary Nomads Mailbag
===
Literary Nomads is the main program of Waywords Studio (https://waywordsstudio.com). The podcast posts new material each week, with thought-provoking examinations of literature around selected questions or themes and several smaller supplemental episodes in between the larger programs: history, writing, and contemporary applications of ideas.
Visit us for expanded resources for guests and the Waywords community, for other programs and writing, and for opportunities to support our goal to expand reading. Resources available can include full bibliographies of material referenced, full and partial texts, annotated editions, supplemental and expanded episodes, fictional explorations, teaching and learning resources, additional essays, and online courses.
Website: https://waywordsstudio.com
Newsletter: https://waywordsstudio.kit.com/
Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Tumblr, LinkedIn, and BlueSky: @WaywordsStudio
===
CREDITS:
Original music by Randon Myles (https://randonmyles.com/)
Chapter headings by Natalie Harrison and Sarah Skaleski

USING THIS WORK:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. It is open to be used and adapted for all not-for-profit uses with proper attribution.

MLA CITATION:
Chisnell, Steve. “Waypoint: Reading of “Min,” by Lucy Maud Montgomery” Literary Nomads. Waywords Studio, 23 Oct. 2026, https://waywordsstudio.com/project/literary-tourism/
32 min
October 12Spectre-Grey – Dark Montgomery Pt. 2
What is the real story behind the creator of Anne of Green Gables?
In the close of this two-part examination of Lucy Maud Montgomery’s life, we examine how her idealized fiction was neither passive memory nor simple escapism, but a defiant “evensong,” an act of economic, spiritual, and even artistic sovereignty launched from within a deep winter darkness.
Resources:
Hardy, Thomas. “The Darkling Thrush,” 1900.
Heilbrun, Carolyn G. Writing a Woman’s Life, 1988.
Montgomery, L. M. Anne of Green Gables. L. C. Page & Co., 1908.
Montgomery, L. M. The Alpine Path: The Story of My Career, 1917.
Montgomery, L. M. “The Girl and the Photograph.” Short Stories, 1903.
Montgomery, L. M. The Selected Journals of L. M. Montgomery, Volume V: 1935–1942.
Rubio, Mary Henley. Lucy Maud Montgomery: The Gift of Wings, 2008.
Episode 7.10 –
Spectre-Grey - Dark Montgomery Pt. 2
Thomas Hardy: “The Darkling Thrush” (1900)
(pdf of this work)
I leant upon a coppice gate
      When Frost was spectre-grey,
And Winter’s dregs made desolate
      The weakening eye of day.
The tangled bine-stems scored the sky
      Like strings of broken lyres,
And all mankind that haunted nigh
      Had sought their household fires.
The land’s sharp features seemed to be
      The Century’s corpse outleant,
His crypt the cloudy canopy,
      The wind his death-lament.
The ancient pulse of germ and birth
      Was shrunken hard and dry,
And every spirit upon earth
      Seemed fervourless as I.
At once a voice arose among
      The bleak twigs overhead
In a full-hearted evensong
      Of joy illimited;
An aged thrush, frail, gaunt, and small,
      In blast-beruffled plume,
Had chosen thus to fling his soul
      Upon the growing gloom.
So little cause for carolings
      Of such ecstatic sound
Was written on terrestrial things
      Afar or nigh around,
That I could think there trembled through
      His happy good-night air
Some blessed Hope, whereof he knew
      And I was unaware.
Listener’s Guide Reflection Questions
How do we distinguish between an authentic telling of an author’s legacy and a flattened “two-dimensional photograph” crafted for market consumption?
What psychological role does the image of a singing bird play when we are confronted with systemic or personal despair?
In what ways does society pressure caretakers and public figures to hide domestic illness behind a professional facade?
How does the framing of a memory or history influence whether we see an event as tragic defeat or a defiant triumph?
What responsibilities do travelers carry when they meet an historical simplification or misinformation?
Skeptical Pilgrim Challenges:
The Grand Tour - PDF
Packing Lists - PDF
Author Footprints - PDF
Mapping Dreams - PDF
Building Fantasies – PDF
Dark Montgomery - PDF
Complete Resources: https://waywordsstudio.com/project/literary-tourism/
CHAPTERS
00:00 “The Darkling Thrush”
04:16 Intro Theme
04:52 Darkling Imagery
10:48 A Coppice Gate
19:02 The Aged Thrush
24:06 Endings & Images
28:00 So Little Cause
32:11 Closing Credits

===
Transcript and Full Bibliography: https://waywordsstudio.com/general/transcript/7-10-dark-montgomery-2

New to Literary Nomads?
Check out my introductory episodes (0.1-0.3) to find out what’s going on here! I’ve got an episode for readers, for teachers, and for students: https://waywordsstudio.com/podcasts/waywords-podcast/
Have a Question? Want to Comment? Literary Nomads Mailbag
===
Literary Nomads is the main program of Waywords Studio (https://waywordsstudio.com). The podcast posts new material each week, with thought-provoking examinations of literature around selected questions or themes and several smaller supplemental episodes in between the larger programs: history, writing, and contemporary applications of ideas.
Visit us for expanded resources for guests and the Waywords community, for other programs and writing, and for opportunities to support our goal to expand reading. Resources available can include full bibliographies of material referenced, full and partial texts, annotated editions, supplemental and expanded episodes, fictional explorations, teaching and learning resources, additional essays, and online courses.
Website: https://waywordsstudio.com
Newsletter: https://waywordsstudio.kit.com/
Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Tumblr, LinkedIn, and BlueSky: @WaywordsStudio
===
CREDITS:
Original music by Randon Myles (https://randonmyles.com/)
Chapter headings by Natalie Harrison and Sarah Skaleski

USING THIS WORK:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. It is open to be used and adapted for all not-for-profit uses with proper attribution.

MLA CITATION:
Chisnell, Steve. “Spectre-Grey - Dark Montgomery Pt. 2.” Literary Nomads. Waywords Studio, 9 Oct. 2026, https://waywordsstudio.com/project/literary-tourism/
34 min
September 22Ghost in the Garden – Dark Montgomery Pt. 1
What if Anne of Green Gables wasn’t just an escapist daydream, but a calculated strategy that saved its author’s life?
Today we find the divide between L.M. Montgomery’s sunlit public fiction and her claustrophobic domestic reality. From hidden kitchen-table writing under an autocratic grandfather to a decade-long legal battle against a predatory Boston publisher, we explore how her idyllic landscapes served as a fortress of psychological survival and an engine for economic sovereignty.
Resources:
Heilbrun, Carolyn G. Writing a Woman’s Life, 1988.
Montgomery, L. M. Anne of Green Gables. L. C. Page & Co., 1908.
Montgomery, L. M. “Min.” Short Stories 1902 to 1903, 1903.
Montgomery, L. M. The Alpine Path: The Story of My Career, 1917.
Montgomery, L. M. The Blue Castle, 1926.
Montgomery, L. M. “The Closed Door.” Faded Page, 1934.
Rubio, Mary Henley. Lucy Maud Montgomery: The Gift of Wings, 2008.
Episode 7.09 –
Ghost in the Garden - Dark Montgomery Pt. 1
Glossary
Double Escape – A dual strategy where a female author uses pseudonymity to protect her private identity while creating characters who openly defy social constraints.
Curated Narrative - A simplified, sanitized representation of an author’s life or landscape that edits out historical friction, trauma, and economic conflict for public consumption.
Economic Sovereignty – The intentional use of creative output and legal assertion to secure financial independence from restrictive domestic or corporate manipulations.
Listener’s Guide Reflection Questions
What mental blind spots do we create when we choose to focus on an author’s characters rather than their personal struggles?
How does the physical layout of a room—its doors, locks, or visual boundaries—influence our psychological perception of safety and freedom?
In what ways does the act of assigning a new name to a person, place, or experience alter our sense of control over it?
How do cultural restrictions and business practices shape the kinds of stories marginalized authors are permitted to tell?
What happens to our appreciation of a literary work when we recognize its broader history of creation and publication?
Skeptical Pilgrim Challenges:
The Grand Tour - PDF
Packing Lists - PDF
Author Footprints - PDF
Mapping Dreams - PDF
Building Fantasies – PDF
Dark Montgomery - PDF
Complete Resources: https://waywordsstudio.com/project/literary-tourism/
CHAPTERS
00:00 The Closed Chamber
06:01 Intro Theme
06:38 Cages
12:30 Shields
17:12 Closed Doors
30:00 Exercising Our Skepticism
32:48 Closing Credits

===
Transcript and Full Bibliography: https://waywordsstudio.com/general/transcript/7-09-dark-montgomery-1

New to Literary Nomads?
Check out my introductory episodes (0.1-0.3) to find out what’s going on here! I’ve got an episode for readers, for teachers, and for students: https://waywordsstudio.com/podcasts/waywords-podcast/
Have a Question? Want to Comment? Literary Nomads Mailbag
===
Literary Nomads is the main program of Waywords Studio (https://waywordsstudio.com). The podcast posts new material each week, with thought-provoking examinations of literature around selected questions or themes and several smaller supplemental episodes in between the larger programs: history, writing, and contemporary applications of ideas.
Visit us for expanded resources for guests and the Waywords community, for other programs and writing, and for opportunities to support our goal to expand reading. Resources available can include full bibliographies of material referenced, full and partial texts, annotated editions, supplemental and expanded episodes, fictional explorations, teaching and learning resources, additional essays, and online courses.
Website: https://waywordsstudio.com
Newsletter: https://waywordsstudio.kit.com/
Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Tumblr, LinkedIn, and BlueSky: @WaywordsStudio
===
CREDITS:
Original music by Randon Myles (https://randonmyles.com/)
Chapter headings by Natalie Harrison and Sarah Skaleski

USING THIS WORK:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. It is open to be used and adapted for all not-for-profit uses with proper attribution.

MLA CITATION:
Chisnell, Steve. “Ghost in the Garden - Dark Montgomery Pt. 1.” Literary Nomads. Waywords Studio, 18 Sept. 2026, https://waywordsstudio.com/project/literary-tourism/
35 min
September 04 Temporary Delay Announcement
Hey, everyone!
Thanks for your patience during this unexpected episode delay! A few tech challenges while I upgraded my studio this summer put me a few weeks behind.
But this little announcement proves that I’m back up and running, so we’ll continue our Literary Tourism journey very soon, and I’ll likely drop a few episodes closer together to make up for our lost late summer.
Next we dig into author Lucy Maud Montgomery’s own life to see how our little Anne of Green Gables may have mirrored it! Spoiler: We’re calling these next two episodes “Dark Montgomery.”
Thanks again for your support and patience. I’ll be back soon!
===
Literary Nomads is the main program of Waywords Studio (https://waywordsstudio.com). The podcast posts new material each week, with thought-provoking examinations of literature around selected questions or themes and several smaller supplemental episodes in between the larger programs: history, writing, and contemporary applications of ideas.
Visit us for expanded resources for guests and the Waywords community, for other programs and writing, and for opportunities to support our goal to expand reading. Resources available can include full bibliographies of material referenced, full and partial texts, annotated editions, supplemental and expanded episodes, fictional explorations, teaching and learning resources, additional essays, and online courses.
Website: https://waywordsstudio.com
Newsletter: https://waywordsstudio.kit.com/
Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Tumblr, LinkedIn, and BlueSky: @WaywordsStudio
===
CREDITS:
Original music by Randon Myles (https://randonmyles.com/)
1 min
August 08Building Fantasies
How does the map overwrite the physical territory it claims to represent?
Today we look at literary simulations, from the bedroom of Victor Hugo to the Orlando welter of parks and rides. Guided by the semiotics of Umberto Eco, the simulation theory of Jean Baudrillard, and the urban critiques of Sam Jacob, we investigate the social construction of experience environments and what creates our preference for them over the raw experience.
Resources:
Baudrillard, Jean. Simulacra and Simulation, 1994.
Benjamin, Walter. The Arcades Project, 1999.
Eco, Umberto. Travels in Hyperreality: Essays, 1986.
Jacob, Sam. “Vriesendorp Syndrome.” Perspecta 41: Grand Tour, 2008.
MacLeod, Nicola E. Literary Fiction Tourism: Understanding the Practice of Fiction-Inspired Travel, 2021.
Melton, Jeffrey Alan. “Keeping the Faith: Mark Twain’s Innocents Abroad.” South Atlantic Review, 1996.
Montgomery, L. M. The Alpine Path: The Story of My Career, 1917.
Montgomery, L. M. The Selected Journals of L. M. Montgomery, 1985-2004.
Twain, Mark. Roughing It. American Publishing Company, 1872.
Tuan, Yi-Fu. Topophilia: A Study of Environmental Perception, Attitudes, and Values. Columbia University Press, 1990
Episode 7.08 –
Building Fantasies
Glossary
The Absolute Fake: An engineered, hyperreal reproduction or simulation that seeks to completely replace reality, offering a polish that works to eliminate the traveler’s desire for the messy or difficult original.
Touristic Faith: The psychological suspension of disbelief where travelers willingly dismiss their own skepticism and actively collude with the tourist industry to pretend they are gaining an “authentic” experience.
Vriesendorp Syndrome: The construction of spaces where the sheer number and juxtaposition of cheap, mass-produced replicas separates our idea of place from its physical reality, turning place into a frictionless, standardized “flavor.”
Listener’s Guide Reflection Questions
When we look at a clean replica or model, what do our minds do to judge it more informative than a weathered original?
How does the metaphor of a map “generating” a territory change how we think about our expectations for a space?
When we observe a reflection or a photo of a landscape, how does that visual frame change our view of the physical environment behind it?
In what ways do curated soundscapes, scents, and climate controls shape our willingness to accept an artificial room as a valid space?
How does remembering a past journey alter what we experienced in the physical moment?
Skeptical Pilgrim Challenges:
The Grand Tour - PDF
Packing Lists - PDF
Author Footprints - PDF
Mapping Dreams - PDF
Building Fantasies – PDF
Complete Resources: https://waywordsstudio.com/project/literary-tourism/
CHAPTERS
00:00 Leaving the Road Behind
06:49 Intro Theme
07:25 All the Flavors
17:49 Lake Tahoe on Fire
22:46 Pilgrim Exercises Pt 5
24:31 Montgomery’s Lost Island
30:17 Closing Credits

===
Transcript and Full Bibliography: https://waywordsstudio.com/general/transcript/7-08-building-fantasies

New to Literary Nomads?
Check out my introductory episodes (0.1-0.3) to find out what’s going on here! I’ve got an episode for readers, for teachers, and for students: https://waywordsstudio.com/podcasts/waywords-podcast/
Have a Question? Want to Comment? Literary Nomads Mailbag
===
Literary Nomads is the main program of Waywords Studio (https://waywordsstudio.com). The podcast posts new material each week, with thought-provoking examinations of literature around selected questions or themes and several smaller supplemental episodes in between the larger programs: history, writing, and contemporary applications of ideas.
Visit us for expanded resources for guests and the Waywords community, for other programs and writing, and for opportunities to support our goal to expand reading. Resources available can include full bibliographies of material referenced, full and partial texts, annotated editions, supplemental and expanded episodes, fictional explorations, teaching and learning resources, additional essays, and online courses.
Website: https://waywordsstudio.com
Newsletter: https://waywordsstudio.kit.com/
Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Tumblr, LinkedIn, and BlueSky: @WaywordsStudio
===
CREDITS:
Original music by Randon Myles (https://randonmyles.com/)
Chapter headings by Natalie Harrison and Sarah Skaleski

USING THIS WORK:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. It is open to be used and adapted for all not-for-profit uses with proper attribution.

MLA CITATION:
Chisnell, Steve. “7.08 Building Fantasies. ” Literary Nomads. Waywords Studio, 07 August 2026, https://waywordsstudio.com/project/literary-tourism/
32 min
August 02Mapping Dreams
How do we navigate the space between the curated tourism experience and the raw concrete of the world beneath it?
We investigate the “imaginative geographies” we project onto other lands, examining how Italo Calvino’s semiotic cities, Arthur Conan Doyle’s romanticized London, and Mathieu Kassovitz’s brutalist Paris reveal the ethical tensions of the traveler’s gaze. We look into our habit of cropping out infrastructure and ask whether reading the raw city makes us better travelers or something worse. Bloomsday in Dublin and Iain Sinclair’s London Orbital are also considered.
Resources:
Calvino, Italo. Invisible Cities, 1974.
Doyle, Arthur Conan. “A Study in Scarlet,” 1930.
Harvey, David. The Condition of Postmodernity: An Enquiry into the Origins of Cultural Change, 1989.
Joyce, James. Ulysses, 1922.
Kassovitz, Mathieu, director. La Haine, 1995.
Said, Edward W. Orientalism, 1978.
Sinclair, Iain, and Chris Petit, directors. London Orbital, 2002.
Sinclair, Iain. London Orbital: A Walk Around the M25, 2002.
Episode 7.07 –
Mapping Dreams
Glossary
Imaginative Geography: The thought process, according to Edward Said, where we build a mental conception of a foreign landscape through literature, art, and personal or cultural desire long before we physically arrive, pre-determining and replacing the actual physical geography with a commodified myth. See Edward Said’s Orientalism, 1978.
Staged Authenticity: The socio-spatial phenomenon where tourism operators construct aesthetically controlled “front stages” (such as curated landmarks or replica villages) to satisfy the consumer/tourist’s desire for an authentic encounter, even while actively concealing the “back-stage” realities of local labor, economic extraction, and physical infrastructure.
Listener’s Guide Reflection Questions
When you crop a travel photograph to remove a power line, parking lot, or trash can, what reality are you trying to erase?
How does Sherlock Holmes’s cocaine addiction or Leopold Bloom’s alienation ruin the versions of London and Dublin sold by tourism?
How has Edward Said’s “imaginative geography” worked on your travel expectations in the past?
Do you watch fictional films or read books about urban decay or poverty? For what reasons?
Which of the two Calvino cities featured most resonate with you, Tamara or Zaira? Why?
Skeptical Pilgrim Challenges:
The Grand Tour - PDF
Packing Lists - PDF
Author Footprints - PDF
Mapping Dreams - PDF
Complete Resources: https://waywordsstudio.com/project/literary-tourism/
CHAPTERS
00:00 PEI and Tamara
04:26 Intro Theme
05:03 My PEI Failures
13:49 The Unhandy Embrace
20:51 Some Skeptical Exercises (Pt 4)
23:37 Zaira and Hard Spaces
36:45 Closing Credits

===
Transcript and Full Bibliography: https://waywordsstudio.com/general/transcript/7-07-mapping-dreams

New to Literary Nomads?
Check out my introductory episodes (0.1-0.3) to find out what’s going on here! I’ve got an episode for readers, for teachers, and for students: https://waywordsstudio.com/podcasts/waywords-podcast/
Have a Question? Want to Comment? Literary Nomads Mailbag
===
Literary Nomads is the main program of Waywords Studio (https://waywordsstudio.com). The podcast posts new material each week, with thought-provoking examinations of literature around selected questions or themes and several smaller supplemental episodes in between the larger programs: history, writing, and contemporary applications of ideas.
Visit us for expanded resources for guests and the Waywords community, for other programs and writing, and for opportunities to support our goal to expand reading. Resources available can include full bibliographies of material referenced, full and partial texts, annotated editions, supplemental and expanded episodes, fictional explorations, teaching and learning resources, additional essays, and online courses.
Website: https://waywordsstudio.com
Newsletter: https://waywordsstudio.kit.com/
Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Tumblr, LinkedIn, and BlueSky: @WaywordsStudio
===
CREDITS:
Original music by Randon Myles (https://randonmyles.com/)
Chapter headings by Natalie Harrison and Sarah Skaleski

USING THIS WORK:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. It is open to be used and adapted for all not-for-profit uses with proper attribution.

MLA CITATION:
Chisnell, Steve. “7.07 Mapping Dreams. ” Literary Nomads. Waywords Studio, 31 July 2026, https://waywordsstudio.com/project/literary-tourism/
39 min
July 25Author Footprints Pt. 2 – The Aracataca Paradox
What happens to a real, working community when a fictional landscape is physically constructed on top of it?
We discover the socio-economic friction behind literary travel, contrasting the magical ideals of Gabriel García Márquez’s Macondo with the unpaved streets of Aracataca, Colombia. Behind the “front stage” of tourist attractions are bulldozers, evictions, and even a violent army. We learn about the history of PEI National Park expropriations, the 1928 Banana Massacre, and how to critically read tourist destinations beyond the gift shop facade.
Resources:
García Márquez, Gabriel. One Hundred Years of Solitude, 1967.
Lefebvre, Henri. The Production of Space, 1991.
Montgomery, Lucy Maud. Anne of Avonlea, 1909.
Montgomery, L. M. The Selected Journals of L. M. Montgomery, Volume V: 1935–1942, 2004.
Steele, Fiona, host. “Painting the Gables ‘Green’.” The Hidden Island, Season 3, Episode 5, 12 Sept 2022.
Episode 7.06 –
Author Footprints Pt. 2 - The Aracataca Paradox
Listener’s Guide Reflection Questions
When you encounter a perfectly preserved historical landmark, what omissions or missing community details must you ignore to maintain your feeling of nostalgia?
How does the presence of a corporate licensing agreement or trademark boundary alter an author’s legacy?
When local residents invent fictional anecdotes or point to fake historical spots for visiting pilgrims, who is truly controlling the performance of the tourist site?
In what ways does buying a mass-produced souvenir act as a buffer against the uncomfortable economic disparities of the places we visit?
If every tourist destination is a manufactured “front stage,” what active choices can a wayfarer make to step off the guided path and read the real location?
Skeptical Pilgrim Challenges:
The Grand Tour - PDF
Packing Lists - PDF
Author Footprints - PDF
Complete Resources: https://waywordsstudio.com/project/literary-tourism/
CHAPTERS
00:00 A Quick Review
00:38 A Broader Context
00:03 Intro Theme
03:52 The Magic and the Austerity
09:19 Plenty of Masks to Go Around
21:51 The Earth Paved Over
32:09 Closing Credits

===
Transcript and Full Bibliography: https://waywordsstudio.com/general/transcript/7-06-author-footprints-pt-2

New to Literary Nomads?
Check out my introductory episodes (0.1-0.3) to find out what’s going on here! I’ve got an episode for readers, for teachers, and for students: https://waywordsstudio.com/podcasts/waywords-podcast/
Have a Question? Want to Comment? Literary Nomads Mailbag
===
Literary Nomads is the main program of Waywords Studio (https://waywordsstudio.com). The podcast posts new material each week, with thought-provoking examinations of literature around selected questions or themes and several smaller supplemental episodes in between the larger programs: history, writing, and contemporary applications of ideas.
Visit us for expanded resources for guests and the Waywords community, for other programs and writing, and for opportunities to support our goal to expand reading. Resources available can include full bibliographies of material referenced, full and partial texts, annotated editions, supplemental and expanded episodes, fictional explorations, teaching and learning resources, additional essays, and online courses.
Website: https://waywordsstudio.com
Newsletter: https://waywordsstudio.kit.com/
Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Tumblr, LinkedIn, and BlueSky: @WaywordsStudio
===
CREDITS:
Original music by Randon Myles (https://randonmyles.com/)
Chapter headings by Natalie Harrison and Sarah Skaleski

USING THIS WORK:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. It is open to be used and adapted for all not-for-profit uses with proper attribution.

MLA CITATION:
Chisnell, Steve. “7.06 Author Footprints Pt. 2 - The Aracataca Paradox. ” Literary Nomads. Waywords Studio, 24 July 2026, https://waywordsstudio.com/project/literary-tourism/
34 min
July 17Author Footprints Pt. 1 – Aura & Reliquary
Why do we drive thousands of miles just to touch the wooden beams of an author’s birthplace?
From Poe’s Baltimore to PEI and Waywords’s own Waterford, MI, we consider what it takes to build a literary destination and how this works to undermine the very real need for we travelers to cross the threshold from the literary into the physical. Is there a way to thwart the hucksters of simulations? Perhaps!
Resources:
Bachelard, Gaston. The Poetics of Space, 1969.
Benjamin, Walter. “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction,” 1969.
MacLeod, Nicola E. Literary Fiction Tourism: Understanding the Practice of Fiction-Inspired Travel, 2024.
Montgomery, Lucy Maud. The Alpine Path: The Story of My Career, 1917.
Tuan, Yi-Fu. Topophilia: A Study of Environmental Perception, Attitudes, and Values, 1990
Episode 7.05 –
Author Footprints Pt. 1 - Aura & Reliquary
Glossary:
Topophilia: The real and physical human desire to meet authentic space and map our emotions onto the physical earth.
Heterotopia: A specially-created “other space” or place of difference that exists wholly outside of ordinary daily life. In the context of literary tourism, an arranged, static attraction designed that offers the idea of a flawless, isolated world in contrast to our own.
Aura: The unique, irreplaceable physical presence and authority of an original work/art that is weakened by mass reproduction.
Listener’s Guide Reflection Questions
When you feel a sudden wave of awe while standing inside a historical building, are you emotionally connecting to the long-dead occupant, or are you reacting to the architectural cues—the lighting, the placards, the quiet—designed to trigger a posture of reverence?
Consider the threshold of a museum’s velvet rope: how does the act of cordoning off a mundane everyday item (like an author’s writing desk or an antique bookcase) alter your perception of its value compared to an identical item sitting in a thrift store?
If our internal imagination requires us to ground ourselves in physical landmarks to feel a text’s “authenticity,” what does that suggest about the limitations of our minds to hold abstract ideas without a concrete, material anchor?
Reflect on the psychological role of the gift shop at the end of an historic tour: how does buying a plastic replica or a themed postcard serve as a physical mechanism for our emotions?
Think about your own home or neighborhood using the metaphor of a flawless diorama: what details, chores, or structural flaws would you have to entirely censor or rope off to make your daily space look like an arranged attraction for an outside visitor?
Skeptical Pilgrim Challenges:
The Grand Tour - PDF
Packing Lists - PDF
Author Footprints - PDF
Complete Resources: https://waywordsstudio.com/project/literary-tourism/
CHAPTERS
00:00 Genuine Impulse
07:29 Intro Theme
08:06 Blueprint of a Shrine
18:19 Simulating Simulations
23:05 The Decay of Aura
30:00 Closing Credits

===
Transcript and Full Bibliography: https://waywordsstudio.com/general/transcript/7-05-author-footprints-pt-1

New to Literary Nomads?
Check out my introductory episodes (0.1-0.3) to find out what’s going on here! I’ve got an episode for readers, for teachers, and for students: https://waywordsstudio.com/podcasts/waywords-podcast/
Have a Question? Want to Comment? Literary Nomads Mailbag
===
Literary Nomads is the main program of Waywords Studio (https://waywordsstudio.com). The podcast posts new material each week, with thought-provoking examinations of literature around selected questions or themes and several smaller supplemental episodes in between the larger programs: history, writing, and contemporary applications of ideas.
Visit us for expanded resources for guests and the Waywords community, for other programs and writing, and for opportunities to support our goal to expand reading. Resources available can include full bibliographies of material referenced, full and partial texts, annotated editions, supplemental and expanded episodes, fictional explorations, teaching and learning resources, additional essays, and online courses.
Website: https://waywordsstudio.com
Newsletter: https://waywordsstudio.kit.com/
Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Tumblr, LinkedIn, and BlueSky: @WaywordsStudio
===
CREDITS:
Original music by Randon Myles (https://randonmyles.com/)
Chapter headings by Natalie Harrison and Sarah Skaleski

USING THIS WORK:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. It is open to be used and adapted for all not-for-profit uses with proper attribution.

MLA CITATION:
Chisnell, Steve. “7.05 Author Footprints Pt 1 - Aura & Reliquary. ” Literary Nomads. Waywords Studio, 17 July 2026, https://waywordsstudio.com/project/literary-tourism/
32 min
July 10Packing Lists Pt. 2 – Stalwart Women
Who carries the weight of our leisure?
Some readings from the past by thoughtful and resilient women! Take in some early writing of place and circumstance, journals and reflections which reflect the jarring collisions between our travel expectations and the realities we meet. More, we learn that an adaptable attitude and skeptical eye are essential tools.
Readings from:
Dorothy Wordsworth - “The Highland Hut” from Recollections of a Tour Made in Scotland, A.D. 1803
Mary Seacole - Chapter III from Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands, 1857
Sei Shōnagon - “182. The House Had a Spacious Courtyard,” from The Pillow Book, c. 1002
Episode 7.04 –
Packing Lists Pt. 2 - Stalwart Women
Other Resources:
MacLeod, Nicola E. Literary Fiction Tourism: Understanding the Practice of Fiction-Inspired Travel, 2024.
Glossary:
Compartmentalized World: A theoretical concept from Frantz Fanon which describes how the colonial world is divided into two distinct species: the wealthy, secure sector of the colonizer and the impoverished, exploited sector of the colonized. In the context of travel, we ask who is permitted to move safely through a space, and who is forced to serve as manual labor, landscape, or a prop for the comfort of others.
Listener’s Guide Reflection Questions
When you examine your expectations which you pack for a highly anticipated trip, what do they suggest about the kind of difficulties or travel challenges you most dislike?
Consider the physical metaphor of a curtain: if your travel planning and packing keep the “raw” destination apart from you, what boundaries have you created between your leisure and local survival?
From Dorothy Wordsworth’s smoky chimney-corner to a modern climate-controlled resort lounge, how has our idea of safety changed and why?
Consider when a text presents you with an offensive historical slur or an ugly, uncomfortable truth: does that sudden friction cause you to see the history more clearly or does your mind want to censor and buffer that discomfort away?
If “roughing it” or traveling “close to the ground” is also a stylized, performative lifestyle choice, what signals do we project to those who observe us?
Skeptical Pilgrim Challenges:
The Grand Tour - PDF
Packing Lists - PDF
Complete Resources: https://waywordsstudio.com/project/literary-tourism/
CHAPTERS
00:00 Where We’ve Been
01:20 Stalwart Women
03:02 Intro Theme
03:38 Dorothy Wordsworth: “The Highland Hut”
08:07 Mary Seacole: The Chaos of Cruces
22:02 Sei Shonagon: “The Exorcism”
28:39 Sovereign but Skeptical
29:45 Closing Credits

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Transcript and Full Bibliography: https://waywordsstudio.com/general/transcript/7-04-packing-lists-pt-2/

New to Literary Nomads?
Check out my introductory episodes (0.1-0.3) to find out what’s going on here! I’ve got an episode for readers, for teachers, and for students: https://waywordsstudio.com/podcasts/waywords-podcast/
Have a Question? Want to Comment? Literary Nomads Mailbag
===
Literary Nomads is the main program of Waywords Studio (https://waywordsstudio.com). The podcast posts new material each week, with thought-provoking examinations of literature around selected questions or themes and several smaller supplemental episodes in between the larger programs: history, writing, and contemporary applications of ideas.
Visit us for expanded resources for guests and the Waywords community, for other programs and writing, and for opportunities to support our goal to expand reading. Resources available can include full bibliographies of material referenced, full and partial texts, annotated editions, supplemental and expanded episodes, fictional explorations, teaching and learning resources, additional essays, and online courses.
Website: https://waywordsstudio.com
Newsletter: https://waywordsstudio.kit.com/
Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Tumblr, LinkedIn, and BlueSky: @WaywordsStudio
===
CREDITS:
Original music by Randon Myles (https://randonmyles.com/)
Chapter headings by Natalie Harrison and Sarah Skaleski

USING THIS WORK:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. It is open to be used and adapted for all not-for-profit uses with proper attribution.

MLA CITATION:
Chisnell, Steve. “7.04: Packing Lists Pt. 2 - Stalwart Women,” Literary Nomads. Waywords Studio, 10 July 2026, https://waywordsstudio.com/project/literary-tourism/
32 min
April 10Waypoint – “The Fortune Teller”
10 April 2026
Waypoint - “The Fortune Teller” by Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis
Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis is perhaps the greatest writer of Brazil. In “The Fortune-Teller,” a secret affair driven by anonymous threats pushes a committed skeptic toward a dingy attic and a deck of cards. It is a study in how easily we trade our reason for a comfortable prophecy, and a reminder that the future rarely negotiates with the stories we tell ourselves. As a setting for our discussion on the role of chance, fate, and destiny against moral accountability, we might find few better examples.
Chapters
00:00 Waypoint Introduction
00:14 Title: “The Fortune Teller” by Machado de Assis
00:33 Reading: “The Fortune Teller”
26:01 Outro
Reflection Questions:
How does the physical weight of a “secret” alter the way your mind perceives the “random” events of the day?
In the moment Camillo enters the fortune-teller’s house, is he seeking a discovery of the future, or a sanctuary from the present?
How does the “logic” of a skeptic become the primary tool for their own self-deception?
If the fortune-teller “guessed” his secret, does that validate the magic, or does it simply expose the transparency of a guilty mind?
When we outsource our moral outcomes to “Fate,” what part of our own agency and accountability do we leave behind?
https://waywordsstudio.com
Complete Resources: https://waywordsstudio.com/podcasts/waywords-podcast/
TRANSCRIPT: https://waywordsstudio.com/general/transcript/waypoint-reading-of-the-fortune-teller
Literary Nomads is the primary program of Waywords Studio (https://waywordsstudio.com). The podcast posts new material frequently, with deep-dive examinations of literature surrounded by smaller episodes which explore related texts, topics, and strategies for thinking.
Visit us for expanded resources for guests and the Waywords community, for other programs and writing, and for opportunities to support our goal to expand reading. Resources available can include full bibliographies of material referenced, full and partial texts, annotated editions, supplemental and expanded episodes, fictional explorations, teaching and learning resources, additional essays, and online courses.
Website: https://waywordsstudio.com
Newsletter: https://waywordsstudio.kit.com/
Social Media: @WaywordsStudio
YouTube: Waywords Studio
CREDITS:
Original music by Randon Myles (https://randonmyles.com/)
USING THIS WORK:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. It is open to be used and adapted for all not-for-profit uses with proper attribution.
MLA CITATION:
Chisnell, Steve. “Reading of ‘The Fortune Teller’ by Machado de Assis,’” Waywords Studio, 10 April 2026, https://waywordsstudio.com/project/waypoints/.
27 min

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