Deviate

“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. Note: We don’t host a “comments” section, but we’re happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.

“If you put Harrison Ford, Sting, and Andy Chapman in a room together in Kansas in 1981, the girls of Kansas would have trampled the actor and the rock star in an effort to get closer to the charismatic young soccer player.” – Rolf Potts In this essay episode of Deviate, Rolf talks about the iconically 1980s sports phenomenon known as Major League Indoor Soccer, and how the league came about (5:00); his childhood fixation with the Wichita Wings, and how the presence of the pro soccer team and its players affected his mid-sized Kansas hometown (11:00); and the most famous game in MISL history, which pitted the Wings against the St. Louis Steamers, and what became of major league indoor soccer — and its legacy –as the 1980s wound down (23:00). God Save the Wings (@GodSaveTheWings) is a feature-length documentary about the Wichita Wings, an indoor soccer team of European party boys who went toe-to-toe with all major markets in the crazy 1980s. Its latest screening is April 12-18, 2021 at Kansas City FilmFest International. Tim O’Bryhim (@WichitaStory) is the producer of God Save the Wings, and co-author of Make This Town Big: The Story of Roy Turner and the Wichita Wings. Notable Links: Wichita Wings (indoor soccer team) NASL (American outdoor soccer league) Henry Kissinger (politician and diplomat) Pele (Brazilian soccer player) MISL (soccer league) Show, Sex, and Suburbs (Sports Illustrated article) Norman Lear (TV producer) Green Bay Packers (NFL football team) Krazy George (professional cheerleader) Andy Chapman (MISL soccer player) Nolan Ryan (baseball player) Tony Dorsett (football player) St. Louis Steamers (indoor soccer team) Slobo Ilijevski (MISL soccer player) Mike Dowler (MISL soccer player) New York Arrows (indoor soccer team) ESPN (sports TV network) FNN-Score (sports TV network) 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 deviate@rolfpotts.com.

“Baseball history needs to be looked at again. The statistics don’t make sense unless you understand the story that went behind those numbers.” – Phil S. Dixon In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Phil talk about the racial integration of Major League baseball in 1947, and the decades of high-level black baseball that came before it (4:00); how baseball was segregated in the 19th century, and why the Negro Leagues were formed in the early 20th (9:30); “barnstorming” baseball in local communities in places like Kansas, and what life on the road was like for these black teams (17:00); how Phil researched the history of the Negro Leagues, and the challenge of finding century-old game statistics (29:30); and how the Negro Leagues stars compare to other baseball players from history (39:00). Phil S. Dixon (@NegroLeagueMan) is the author of seven books about baseball, and cofounder of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City. Notable Links: J. L. Wilkinson (owner of the Kansas City Monarchs) All Nations (barnstorming professional baseball team) Barnstorming (traveling sports matches) Bud Fowler (pre-segregation professional player) Pythian Baseball Club (19th century black baseball team) Moses Fleetwood Walker (baseball player) Rube Foster (founder of the Negro Leagues) Topeka Jack Johnson (baseball player) House of David (baseball team from a Michigan commune) Grover Cleveland Alexander (baseball player) George Giles (baseball player) Only the Ball Was White, by Robert Peterson (book) Negro Baseball Leagues: A Photographic History, by Phil S. Dixon (book) The 1931 Homestead Grays, by Phil S. Dixon (book) Buck O’Neil (baseball player, manager, and scout) Satchel Paige (baseball player) 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 deviate@rolfpotts.com.

“Asking questions about travel, and exploring ways philosophy has changed travel, can help us think more deeply about our journeys.” – Emily Thomas In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Emily discuss the relationship between philosophy and travel (2:00); speculative fiction as a form of travel writing, and the relationship between feminism and travel (13:30); maps as a way of representing the world, and the aesthetic significance of mountains (24:00); beauty versus the sublime, and American naturalism and literature (32:00); and “cabin porn” and doom travel (40:00). Emily Thomas (@emilytwrites) is an Associate Professor in Philosophy at Durham University. She completed her PhD at the University of Cambridge, and has published extensively on the philosophy of space and time. She is  the author of The Meaning of Travel. For more about Emily, check out https://emilythomaswrites.co.uk. Notable Links: Age of Discovery (period of European exploration) Francis Bacon (philosopher) Robinson Crusoe, by Daniel Defoe (book) The Blazing World, by Margaret Cavendish (book) Mary Kingsley (explorer) Isabella Bird (explorer/writer) Mary Wollstonecraft (philosopher/writer) Egeria (pilgrim) Utopia, by Thomas More (book) Henry David Thoreau (philosopher/naturalist) Ralph Waldo Emerson (philosopher/essayist) Climate change (large-scale shift in global weather) Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer (book) René Descartes (philosopher) 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 deviate@rolfpotts.com.

“How do we become who we are in the world? We ask the world to teach us.” – Pam Houston In this episode of Deviate, Pam discusses her interactions with writing students (2:30); living an non-traditional life (16:30); developing a notion of home (25:00); and how Pam’s life on the ranch affects her writing (34:00). The episode concludes with Rolf reading his short essay “Creating a new sense of home is part of the travel process.” Pam Houston (@pam_houston) is an author and professor of English at the University of California, Davis. Her books include Cowboys Are My Weakness and Contents May Have Shifted, with her latest, Deep Creek, set for release in January 2019. For more information on Pam, check out her website at https://pamhouston.wordpress.com/ Notable Links: Santa Fe Writers Workshop “Some Kind of Calling,” by Pam Houston (essay) “Pam Houston on (Finally) Finding True Love” (essay) Desert Solitaire, by Edward Abbey (book) Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, by Annie Dillard (book) My Antonia, by Willa Cather (novel) Alice Munro (author) Terry Tempest Williams (author) The Meadow, by James Galvan (book) West Fork Complex (2013 wildfire) This episode is brought you by the Santa Fe Workshops, which offer a variety of online and in-person classes and seminars in writing and photography, including “The Particular Beauty of Our Pared-Down Lives,” an online writing workshop featuring author Pam Houston (March 30 – April 15, 2021). 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 deviate@rolfpotts.com.

“In COVID times it’s harder to get on a plane and go hiking in, say, Austria or Italy. So we said, ‘why not do a 20-mile hike out of our back door?’” –Kristen Bush In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Kiki sit in a Kansas town known as “Little Sweden” and talk about the joys and challenges of having walked 22 miles there the day before (3:00); the difference between urban, rural, and wilderness walking, how these experiences differ for men and women, and how the suffering of a long walk affects the experience (20:00); the subtle beauty, idiosyncrasies, and historical narratives contained a landscape like Kansas (28:00); Rolf and Kiki’s resumed hike to Coronado Heights, and how meeting a dog named “Larry” the day before made their day more interesting (41:00); how walking enforces a more deliberate pace of travel, and how people see you differently when you’re walking (53:00); how routine tasks like “using the toilet” or getting tired when you’re walking allow you to get in touch with your body in a new way (1:00:30); how walking frees you from having a “consumer” relationship to the world, and how it makes you realize the miracles inherent in everything (1:08:30); and an “Easter Egg” bonus about walking and silence (1:16:15). Kristen “Kiki” Bush is an actress, known for Paterno (2018), Liberal Arts (2012), and Synecdoche, New York (2008). Her TV credits include The Affair, The Good Wife, Elementary, and Law & Order: SVU. She has performed onstage at Manhattan Theatre Club, The Public, the Old Globe, Goodman Theatre, and Lincoln Center. Notable Links: Lindsborg (Kansas town known as “Little Sweden”) Ol Stuga (restaurant-bar in Lindsborg) Grain elevator (building that stores grain) Flâneur (urban mode of walking) Wanderlust, by Rebecca Solnit (book about walking) The Flaneur, by Edmund White (book about urban walking) Of Walking in Ice, by Werner Herzog (book) Christina’s World (painting by Andrew Wyeth) Larry Lapsley (African-American pioneer in Kansas) Nicodemus (Kansas town established by African-Americans) Coronado Heights (butte near Lindsborg) Dala horse (traditional Swedish carved horse) Hemslöjd (Swedish gift shop in Lindsborg) Edward Abbey (American author and essayist) Thomas Swick (travel writer) Søren Kierkegaard (Danish philosopher) Thích Nhất Hạnh (Vietnamese Thiền Buddhist monk and author) This episode is brought you by the Santa Fe Workshops, which offer a variety of online and in-person classes and seminars in writing and photography, including “The Particular Beauty of Our Pared-Down Lives,” an online writing workshop featuring author Pam Houston (March 30 – April 15, 2021). 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 deviate@rolfpotts.com.

“The boundaries of life are responsible for the beauty of life.” – Pico Iyer In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Pico discuss the people we become when we travel (4:00); what led Pico to travel (10:00); travel in the age of technology (20:00); finding the remarkable in the unremarkable (32:00); ping pong as a metaphor for life (40:00); the importance of impermanence (50:00); and the idea of being versus becoming (1:01:00). Pico Iyer (@PicoIyer) is a novelist, essayist, and one of the most influential travel writers of his generation. He is known for such books as Video Night in Kathmandu and The Lady and the Monk, with many of his works receiving significant critical acclaim. He has also written for such publications as The New York Times, Time, and Harper’s. For more about Pico, check out http://picoiyerjourneys.com/ Notable Links: A Beginner’s Guide to Japan, by Pico Iyer (book) Autumn Light, by Pico Iyer (book) Walt Whitman (poet / essayist) John Muir (naturalist) Herman Melville (writer) Let’s Go (travel guide series) Salman Rushdie (writer) John Burroughs (naturalist / writer) This episode is brought to you by the Santa Fe Workshops, which offer a variety of online and in-person classes and seminars in writing and photography, including “Across the World and Deep Within,” a travel webinar featuring author Pico Iyer (February 16-18, 2021). 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 deviate@rolfpotts.com.

“I learned so quickly that children change everything about travel.” –Bruce Kirkby In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Bruce discuss how Bruce got his travel-writing career started, and why he ended up traveling to a Tibetan Indian monastery with his young family (3:00); what it is like to travel overland with young kids in tow, from Canada to India, and how having a child on the autism spectrum affects the experience (12:30); what it was like to travel to Asia with a sixteen-person TV crew in tow (23:00); what it was like to life a low-tech offline life and teach English in a remote (yet changing) mountain region in Tibetan India (27:30); how Bruce and his family navigated the tension between tradition and modernity in Zanskar, and how being there for three months differs from a shorter visit (38:00). Bruce Kirkby (@bruce_kirkby) is a Canadian adventurer, photographer, and writer. His newest book, discussed in this episode, is Blue Sky Kingdom: An Epic Family Journey to the Heart of the Himalaya. More about Bruce and his career can be found at: http://brucekirkby.com/. Notable Links: Mergui Archipelago (group of islands in southern Myanmar) Family Ties (1980s TV show starring Michael J. Fox) Kate Harris (Canadian travel writer) Kate Harris on travel (Deviate podcast episode) Zanskar (mountain region in Tibetan India) Ladakh (union territory in India’s Kashmir region) Autism spectrum disorder (neurodevelopmental condition) Big Crazy Family Adventure (Travel Channel show) Long Way Round (TV travel doc featuring Ewan McGregor) Monkey mind (Buddhist concept) 14th Dalai Lama (Tibetan spiritual leader) Rumspringa (Amish rite of passage) Leh (capital city of Ladakh) Being a better bad tourist (Deviate episode) This episode is sponsored by the Santa Fe Workshops, which offer a variety of online and in-person classes and seminars in writing and photography, including “Three Simple Lines & The Color of Wind,” a hybrid writing-photography webinar featuring Natalie Goldberg and Eddie Soloway (January 27-29, 2021); and “Across the World and Deep Within,” a travel webinar featuring author Pico Iyer (February 16-18, 2021). 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 deviate@rolfpotts.com.

“Riding trains offered a great chance to chat with people we’d never cross paths with in our lives normally.” –Monisha Rajesh In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Monisha discuss how her interest in train-travel dates back to a series of journeys she took around India (2:00); her more recent experience of taking the Trans-Mongolian train across Russia and into Asia (14:00); what it was like to travel by train in North Korea, China, and Southeast Asia, and how they differ from European trains (28:00); what it was like to take trains across Canada and the United States, and which global trains Monisha likes best (45:00). Monisha Rajesh (@monisha_rajesh) is a travel journalist, and the author of Around India in 80 Trains, and Around the World in 80 Trains. She currently lives in London with her husband and two daughters. Notable Links: Indrail Pass (Indian rail-pass for foreign nationals) Saint Basil’s Cathedral (church in Moscow’s Red Square) Eurail Pass (rail-pass covering 33 European countries) Trans–Mongolian Railway (long-haul train route) Circum-Baikal Railway (railway in Russia’s Irkutsk region) War and Peace (novel by Leo Tolstoy) Game of Thrones (fantasy TV series) Korean State Railway (train system in North Korea) Southwest Chief (American Amtrak route) German Baptist Brethren (Anabaptist group) Qinghai–Tibet railway (Asian train route) Skeena (Canadian passenger train service) Mandovi Express (train route in India) Flight shaming (environmental social movement) Sunset Limited (American Amtrak route) This episode of Deviate is brought to you by Tortuga Backpacks. Tortuga products also include daypacks, duffels, and other travel accessories, which are all made with the traveler in mind and have been featured by Wirecutter, The New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Business Insider, Carryology, and many other industry outlets. This episode is also brought to you by AirTreks, an industry leader in multi-stop international travel. The AirTreks website offers suggested pre-planned travel itineraries to help you get started, but can customize to fit your journey. 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 deviate@rolfpotts.com.

“The best experiences in life can be had for the price of showing up.” –Rolf Potts In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Kiki take a road-trip to Colorado (with Salvie the cat yowling in his pet-carrier) and discuss how Rolf’s 2010 essay “5 Travel Lessons You Can Use at Home” can apply to home-life during a time of pandemic, including the notion that “Time = Wealth” (5:00); the importance of knowing how to “Be Where You Are” (8:30); the advantages of knowing when to “Slow Down” (20:00); the merit that comes in knowing how to “Keep it Simple” (25:00); and how life is more dynamic when you “Don’t Set Limits” (39:00). Kristen “Kiki” Bush is an actress, known for Paterno (2018), Liberal Arts (2012), and Synecdoche, New York (2008). Her TV credits include The Affair, The Good Wife, Elementary, and Law & Order: SVU. She has performed onstage at Manhattan Theatre Club, The Public, the Old Globe, Goodman Theatre, and Lincoln Center. For information on the Paris-based Travel Memoir classes Rolf is offering to Deviate listeners in 2021, inquire at deviate@rolfpotts.com, or via the online forms at the Paris Writing Workshops website. Notable Links: “5 Travel Lessons You Can Use at Home,” by Rolf Potts (essay) “A personal history of nostalgia” (Deviate episode) Late Night with Seth Meyers (news satire talk show) Rocky Mountain National Park (American wilderness area) Geographers’ A–Z (British street atlas) Thomas Guide (Los Angeles street atlas) Marie Kondo (Japanese organizing consultant and author) No Baggage Challenge (Rolf’s 2010 minimalist journey) Hoarders (reality TV series) Bumble (dating app) Atomium (landmark building in Brussels) Kanopolis State Park (hiking area in Kansas) Marquette Pioneer Trail (hiking area in Kansas) Lindsborg (Swedish-settler town in Kansas) Sterling (small-college town in Kansas) Coronado Heights (sandstone overlook in central Kansas) Richard Rohr (American spiritual writer) This Week in Flips (producer Justin Glow’s YouTube channel) This episode of Deviate alludes to Rolf’s experiences with Tortuga Backpacks, which set the standard for the best, most durable, organized, and comfortable travel backpacks. Note: We don’t host a “comments” section, but we’re happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.