Travel+Writing

toc =Travel Writing=



Definition
Wikipedia defines [|travel writing] (literature) as a narrative " which records the people, events, sights and feelings of an author who is touring a foreign place for the sake and pleasure of travel". It is a broad genre of literature which can take different forms, from essays and travelogues, to even pure travel guides telling tourists what sights to see and where to find the most authentic national couisine. Although the term 'travel writing' is commonly used, all these forms of writings are grouped together under the broader term of 'writing literature'. It can explore the fields of adventure, explorations, diary and entertainment. = =

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History of Travel Wiriting
Travel writing is a very old genre of writing since people have been recording their travels from the ancient times. However, one of the earliest travelogues recognized in Europe is that of a Venetian trader and explorer named [|Marco Polo] (1254 - 1324). It is said that he is on of the first Westerners to have travelled the Silk Road reaching China (which he called Cathay) overland as a culmination of his journey and while there, visiting the court of the Great Khan of the [|Mongol Empire], [|Kublai Khan]. He wrote down his adventures in the book called **//Il Milione//** (//The Million// or [|//The Travels of Marco Polo//]). However, throughout history there have always been debates about the credibility of Polo's writing, with those believing that his journey truly took place citing his knowledge of certain things unknown to Europe of that time such as gunpowder, printing, silk, and porcelain, and those who do not believe that he ever reached China arguing that he never mentions certain things specific to Chinese culture and unknown to Europe such as Chinese writing, chopsticks, tea, and their foot binding practices. Thus, it is unknown whether this can be called the first authentic travelogue in the Medieval Europe but it is certain that he did undertake at least a part of his journey and his writings entertained and fascinated European people with tales of foreign cultures and even inspired [|Columbus] to try and reach those lands by a western sea route.

A [|page] from Marco Polo's //Il Milione//

Other well known early travel writers include [|Petrarch] who ascended Mount Ventoux in 1336 and recorded his experiences, as well as Richard Hakuyt who in 1589 published his travel writing and many experts argue that to this day it remains the foundational text in the whole genre of travel literature. Outside of Europe, one of the earliest and best known travel writers is [|Ibn Jubayr] (1145 - 1217), a Moorish geographer born in Valencia who travelled from [|Ceuta] to [|Alexandria], past [|Balearic Islands],the west coast of [|Sardinia], and [|Crete].

Different Forms of Travel Narratives
There are two basic kinds of travel writing, also referred as the 'travel narratives'. The first one is the purely documentary account of the trip which took place and the author's feelings experienced while on that trip. This can be written in the form of the diary entries or as one long essay covering the whole trip from the beginning until the end and everything in between. But travel narratives can also be completely fictional and still pass for this genre. This can go in two different directions. It can either contain a fictional plot which happens in the real place which the author has visited and describes realistically and in every detail, or it can be based completely on author's imagination. Some of the better known classic examples of the latter include Homer's //[|Odyssey]// (c. 8th cent. BC), and Johnatan Swift's //[|Gulliver Travels]// (1726) which is a fictional satire of the society but written in the form of a travelogue.



Early publication of Johnatan Swift's //[|Gulliver's Travels]//

When authors already famous for other forms of writing such as poetry and fictional prose go to a foreign place and record their experiences that is referred to as the **literary travel writing**. These authors include Samuel Johnson, Robert Louis Stevenson (who is considered to be the pioneer of the tourism literature), Charles Dickens, and D.H. Lawrence. [|Charles Darwin] and his account of the sea voyage onboard //HMS Beagle// is an example of how travel writing can sometime intersect with scientific explorations.

Modern Time Travel Narratives
In modern times, travel writing has become a specialized genre of the larger literary community with a steady audience and full-time writers who make their living by travelling the world and sharing their experiences with other people. Some of the better known veteran authors of this genre are:

- [|William Least Heat-Moon](//Blue Highway: A Journey Into America, 1982//) - [|Paul Theroux](//The Kingdom By The Sea, 1983//) - [|Jan Morris] (//The Venetian Empire, 1980//) - [|Eric Newby] (//Love and War in the Apennines, 1971//)

Travel Magazines


Today, travel writing is not reserved only for books and those with enough time to read them. It has branched out to different formats and one of those includes specialized travel magazines. Today it is estimated that there are over 500 [|travel-related magazines] published in US and Canada alone. Those have, in turn, further branched out to focus on writing about different forms of travel experiences such as budget travel, adventure travel, and even focusing on the experiences of specific segments of population such as the **Passport Magazine** which specializes in gay and lesbian travel writing. National Geographic's issue of [|National Geographic Traveler] is probably one of the most recognized travel magazines in North America.

Travel Guides
= = Travel guides are probably the most commercialized form of travel writing because they focus on practical aspects of travel. In this way, they intersect with the field of cultural geography because they explain the history and practices of the land (and the people) in question as well as provide directions to local hotels and historical sites. But they can also sometimes include the comments and experiences of those who took the route suggested by the guide which can also be considered a watered-down form of travel writing. While today there are many travel guide publications to choose from, some, such as The [|Lonely Planet] and [|Eyewitness Travel Guides] are better known that others.

Online Travel Writing
Travel writing today has become a big industry and Internet has played a major role in this. Today people do not have to buy and read books or even magazines if they wish to read about travel experiences, it is enough to simply connect to the Internet and there they can find numerous websites dedicated to this kind of writing. One advantage of this technolgy is that updates can now happen in real time and on daily basis. A person visiting France, for example, is able to describe his/her daily experiences and post them right away for those in America, Asia, or Australia to see. = =