“All writing is trying to destroy a stereotype, and the individual that you’re writing about — the figure in the landscape — is actually the ideal.” —Paul Theroux

Paul Theroux‘s highly acclaimed novels include Blinding Light, My Other Life, and The Mosquito Coast. His 1975 book The Great Railway Bazaar is credited with revitalizing the genre of literary travel writing, and his more recent travel books include Ghost Train to the Eastern Star, Dark Star Safari, and The Last Train to Zona Verde. His newest book, out this month, is Under the Wave at Waimea.

In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Paul talk about Theroux’s book Figures in a Landscape, and strategies for writing about the “human architecture of a place” (4:30); the attitude and time-investment required for meaningful travel reportage (19:30); the qualities that determine successful travel writing (24:50); the essential discomforts and obstacles of travel (31:45); the uses and shortcomings of paper maps in developing countries (39:15); and where Paul is traveling next (45:00).

Books, articles, and films mentioned

“Paul Theroux on Blogging, Travel Writing, and ‘Three Cups of Tea’” (2011 Atlantic interview)
The Great Railway Bazaar, by Paul Theroux
The Mosquito Coast, by Paul Theroux
The Tao of Travel, by Paul Theroux
Deep South, by Paul Theroux
American Notes, by Charles Dickens
Barbary Shore, by Norman Mailer
Journey Without Maps, by Graham Greene
Sea and Sardinia, by D.H. Lawrence
Travels, by Ibn Battuta
Travels, by Marco Polo
Lafcadio Hearn’s Japan: An Anthology
India: A Million Mutinies Now, by V.S. Naipaul
“Paul Theroux’s Quest to Define Hawaii” (2012 Smithsonian article)
“Mandalay,” by Rudyard Kipling (poem)
Rashomon (1950 Akira Kurosawa film)
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943 film)

People mentioned

Doris Lessing (novelist and poet)
Tom Wolfe (author and journalist)
Robin Williams (actor and comedian)
Elizabeth Taylor (actress)
Michael Jackson (singer-songwriter)
Rod Steiger (actor)
Mike Nichols (film director)
Margaret Mead (anthropologist)
Colin Turnbull (anthropologist)
Bronislaw Malinowski (anthropologist)

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

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