Writing Life Stories Inspired by Travel

"American travel writing is about trying to find the light," says the global journalist and author Pico Iyer. Of course, he's not just talking about the light we see when we gaze at a Greek island sunset, a Mt. Fuji sunrise, or a full moon over the Aztecan pyramids. He's talking about revelation. When we travel we often feel fully alive--engaged in a three-dimensional exploration in which we find a sense of freedom, humanity, and our true selves again. Such experiences can make for insightful, compelling narratives, set as they often are against dazzling and surprising landscapes. Indeed, the best travel writing examines the trip to find the journey. To that end, this course helps you explore and capture on paper some of the moments when you have been profoundly moved--even transformed--by an adventure you've had in a far-flung locale. Each week, you read and critique excerpts of the best travel writing, write from prompts, and discuss the craft and how to place your stories in online and print publications. By the end of the course, you will have written as much as a 2,000-word travel story and a query letter that you can then send out to publications of your choice.