The Art of Wandering: The Writer as Walker

Description

From pilgrim to pedestrian, fl!neur to stalker, the names may change but the activity of walking remains constant, creating a literary tradition encompassing philosophy and poetry, the novel and the manifesto; a tradition which this book explores in detail. Today, as the figure of the wanderer returns to the forefront of the public imagination, writers and walkers around the world are re-engaging with the ideas which animated earlier generations. For the walker is once again on the march, mapping new territory and recording new visions of the landscape.

Merlin Coverley is the author of seven books: London Writing, Psychogeography, Occult London, Utopia, The Art of Wandering, South and Hauntology. He lives in London.

This is a real eye opener of a book and one I would recommend to anyone -- Harri Roberts * Outdoor Focus Magazine * Path to enlightenment: how walking inspires writers -- Billy Mills * The Guardian * A brisk history of why and in what ways writers have walked -- David Sexton * Evening Standard * Coverley's approach is an enlightening one. Covering an astounding amount of material, both well-known and cult writers feature with equal prominence; from Baudelaire, Blake, Whitman and Rimbaud, to the lesser-known Papadimitriou and Walser -- Declan Tan * Huffington Post UK * Splendid, scholarly and suffused with evocative stories and biographical sketches, Coverley's book not only proffers pleasure and diversion but also potently explores the historical significance of the art of walking * Booklist *