“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:

Authors, articles, and other notable links

The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber.

Note: We don’t host a “comments” section, but we’re happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at [email protected].