The Cambridge Introduction to Travel Writing

Cambridge Introductions to Literature

by Tim Youngs

Critics have long struggled to find a suitable category for travelogues. From its ancient origins to the present day, the travel narrative has borrowed elements from various genres - from epic poetry to literary reportage - in order to evoke distant cultures and exotic locales, and sometimes those closer to hand. Tim Youngs argues in this lucid and detailed Introduction that travel writing redefines the myriad genres it comprises and is best understood on its own terms. To this end, Youngs surveys some of the most celebrated travel literature from the medieval period until the present, exploring themes such as the quest motif, the traveler's inner journey, postcolonial travel, and issues of gender and sexuality. The text culminates in a chapter on twenty-first-century travel writing and offers predictions about future trends in the genre, making this Introduction an ideal guide for today's students, teachers, and travel writing enthusiasts.

Genres: Travel

256 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2013

Reviews

[Ryan Murdock · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book started well, with a solid summary of the genre from medieval travel writers to the present. But about halfway through, things took a less interesting turn into the murky waters of the postmodern morass. By the last three chapters, I was thoroughly bogged down in a sticky mess of jargon, ideology, bias casting, and assorted -isms.

Where do I fit as a writer? I'm from Canada, a former British colony, so when I come to Europe and write about Europe, am I a post-colonial writer seeing the world through the victim lens of my country's history? If not, why not? Am I excluded from that category because I'm straight, white and male, and therefore doomed to be cast forever into some oppressive — and highly privileged — patriarchy? Or should I be shunted into the catch-all category of "intersectionality", where every special flower is a group of one?

I realize that these assorted -isms keep academics employed, and fill the dusty shelves of university libraries with books no one reads. But perhaps it would be more helpful to simply acknowledge a few basic things...

One, we all see the world through the lens of our time, whether we're living now in 2018 or back in 1800. How can you blame someone in the past for not being as 'enlightened" as you are now, or for not holding the same views? I guess it's easier to do that when you won't be around to suffer the same judgements 100 years in the future.

Two, we're all strangers traveling among "the other" when we leave our own home, and that's true whether you're reading a western writer traveling in Africa, or an African writer traveling in Canada. The latter is not "reverse colonialism" or some other nonsense term. It's just a writer exploring another culture and reflecting on what she or he sees, and that will necessarily be filtered through our own past, culture, memories and more. That's what makes it interesting to read different writers. Can't we just leave it at that, open ourselves to differences and try to learn something from each other as we all struggle along?

Three, the entire world, and everyone and everything in it, cannot be reduced down to power relationships or hierarchies of power, no matter how insistent the postmodernists are about this. The world is a far more complicated — and far more interesting — place.

This book started off with a solid 4/5 stars, but it unfortunately ended at 2.5/5 for me.

[Tiff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slow but helpful I guess

[T.R. Ormond · Rating 4 out of 5]

Youngs offers a thorough introduction to travel writing with this book. He covers the subject from both historical (18th to 20th century) and thematic perspectives (quest, introspection, black travel writing, women's travel writing and queer travel writing).

For my purposes, the strongest feature of this book was the attention Youngs gives to the evolving role of the narrator in travel writing. As the world becomes smaller, as the potential to discover new destinations diminishes, the persona of the narrator increases in importance. Subjectivity, and all its pitfalls, make for very interesting reading and ensure that travel writing has the potential to be some of the very best psychological writing (when done well).

Another really important point Youngs discusses is the importance of power in the cultural exchange at the forefront of almost all travel writing. Is the traveller/narrator using foreign locales and inhabitants as props in his or her quest for self-discovery? Is s/he aware of this? What is s/he doing to mitigate this use of 'the other'? (which is clearly no longer acceptable in the 21st century...) Is there a way to do travel writing without any of the baggage of imperialism or privilege?

Anyone embarking on researching this subject or on writing travel literature would do well to read this book.

The bibliography is outstanding.

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book covers a vast range of approaches to travel writing. It is not a "How To Write & Sell" instruction manual. Rather it traces the history of travel writing from the days of Marco Polo to the most recent trends. He covers the various types of travelogues, i.e., the quest, the inner journey and the adventure. While covering these genres, he provides many examples to support and illustrate his points.
As an author of a travel memoir, I found a great deal of ideas that were new to my experiences. I recommend this book to anyone who plans on writing about travel or simply enjoys the writings of John Steinbeck, Bruce Chatwin, Paul Theroux and Gertrude Bell to name a few.