I came from, not a small town, but basically not a very interesting place…So it was very important for me not to rebel but simply to get away, to go away.

Travel writing doesn’t have to be lackluster. It can be smart and a pleasure to read, a form of literature in its own right, as Paul Theroux, Ryszard Kapuściński, Peter Matthiessen, and Jan Morris demonstrate in their work. In the words of a piece published by the Paris Review, these writers, “have advanced the art of travel writing, or writing that foregrounds a sense of place.” And now, the Paris Review and 92Y Poetry Center Online are making recordings of interviews with these travel writers available for your listening pleasure. Take a desktop vacation today, free of charge!