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“No endeavor to write a travel book is ever lost, since it gives you a useful perspective on (and intensified attention to) the reality of the travel experience itself. When embraced mindfully, the real-time experience of a journey is invariably its truest reward.” –Rolf Potts
In this episode of Deviate, Rolf touches on nine lessons from attempting to write a (never finished) van-life vagabonding memoir at age 23, including:
On Pilgrims in a Sliding World (1:00)
Lesson #1: No work is lost (and “failure” has lessons to teach)
On the author as a character (6:30)
Lesson #2: “Show, don’t tell” is still good narrative advice
On depicting other people (14:30)
Lesson #3: Travel books require reporting (not just recollecting)
On recounting dialogues (22:30)
Lesson #4: Be true to what was said (but make sure it serves a broader purpose)
On veering from the truth (32:30)
Lesson #5: The truth tends to work better than whatever you might make up
On depicting places (39:30)
Lesson #6: “Telling details” are better than broad generalizations about a place
On neurotic young-manhood (48:30)
Lesson #7: Balance narrative analysis with narrative vulnerability
The seeds of Vagabonding (1:01:30)
Lesson #8: Over time, we write our way into what we have to say
The journey was the point (1:06:30)
Lesson #9: In the end, taking the journey counts for more than writing it
Books mentioned:
- The Geto Boys, by Rolf Potts (2016 book)
- Vagabonding, by Rolf Potts (2003 book)
- The Anxiety of Influence, by Harold Bloom (1973 book)
- On the Road, by Jack Kerouac (1957 book)
- The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger (1951 book)
- Epic of Gilgamesh (12th century BCE Mesopotamian epic)
- Don Quixote, by Miguel de Cervantes (17th century novel)
- The Travels of Sir John Mandeville (14th century travelogue)
- True History, by Lucian of Samosata (2nd century novella)
- Three Cups of Tea, by Greg Mortenson (21st century memoir)
- Marco Polo Didn't Go There, by Rolf Potts (2008 book)
- Labels: A Mediterranean Journal, by Evelyn Waugh (1930 book)
Essays, poems, and short stories mentioned
- "The Mystical High Church of Luck," by Rolf Potts (1998 essay)
- "Greenland is Not Bigger Than South America", by Rolf Potts (1998 essay)
- “The Faces,” by Robert Creeley (1983 poem)
- "Reflection and Retrospection," by Phillip Lopate (2005 essay)
- "Why so much travel writing is so boring," by Thomas Swick (2001 essay)
- "10 Rules of Writing," by Elmore Leonard (2001 essay)
- "In the Penal Colony," by Franz Kafka (1919 short story)
Places and events mentioned
- People's Park (activist park in Berkeley)
- 924 Gilman Street (punk-rock club in Berkeley)
- Alphabet City (neighborhood New York City's East Village)
- Brentwood (Los Angeles neighborhood)
- 1994 Northridge earthquake
- Panama City Beach (Florida spring-break city)
- Gainesville (Florida college town)
- Athens (Georgia college town)
- Big Sur (coastal region of California)
- Humboldt Redwoods State Park (park in California)
Other links:
- "Van Life before #VanLife" (Deviate episode)
- Paris Writing Workshops (Rolf's annual creative writing classes)
- Picaresque (prose genre)
- Roman à clef (fictionalized novel about real-life events)
- "Jumping freight trains in the Pacific NW" (Deviate episode)
- "Telling travel stories, with Andrew McCarthy" (Deviate episode)
- "Rolf Potts: The Vagabond's Way" (Ari Shaffir's Skeptic Tank podcast)
- "A personal history of my grunge-bandwagon band" (Deviate episode)
- Gettysburg Address (Abraham Lincoln speech)
- José Ortega y Gasset (Spanish philosopher)
- Jack Handey (American humorist known for "Deep Thoughts" jokes)
- Laurel Lee (American memoirist)
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.
