March 4, 2010 by evaholland
I wanted to draw attention, briefly, to this essay we published at World Hum last week: Inspiration, Travel Writing and L’Esprit Frondeur. It’s by Atlantic correspondent Jeffrey Tayler, and it’s about how he became a writer. I always get a kick out reading the “how I got started” stories of writers I admire, but I especially appreciated this one for making an important and surprisingly regularly overlooked point:
I’d like to clarify something fundamental. I take for granted that if you want to be a writer, you’re a wordsmith, a lover of the classics and a connoisseur of literature. Writers must, initially and throughout their lives, be readers first and foremost, and readers not primarily of journalism, but of the classics, both modern and not-so-modern. I also take for granted that aspiring writers know how to compose a proper declarative sentence and don’t misuse words. Reading the classics will help hone your ear, but there are many good books on usage out there and writers should read and digest them and reread them. Inspiration and an esprit frondeur won’t help aspiring writers who don’t know the basics of their craft. No matter what motivates you, no matter what experiences you have and seek to put down on paper, editors buy well-written words, and your writing has to be exceptional if it is to see print.
In all the talk about building your online brand, social media, and so on, this basic point – that aspiring writers should love words and know how to use them – can sometimes go overlooked. So thanks for the reminder, Jeffrey.
Posted in Tangents | Tagged Jeffrey Tayler, Writing | 5 Comments »
February 11, 2010 by evaholland
Nothing much to report on the story front, though I’ve got some (hopefully) good ones in the works, but I do have a travel update: After lasting nearly three months (!) without straying more than 100 kms from Whitehorse, I’m packing up my suitcase again for a two-week spin around Vancouver and the Pacific Northwest. Looking forward to seeing some family and friends, filling my shopping and ethnic-eating quotas for awhile, researching a story – and maybe even catching an Olympic event or two.
Things are rolling along as usual at World Hum. If you haven’t already, I’d urge you to check out this hopeful essay about Haiti’s Hotel Oloffson, published a few days after the quake.
After this weekend’s Saints Superbowl victory, I also came across this fantastic video of a Magazine St. victory party – must-see TV for NOLA fans like myself.
Oh, and for anyone keeping score? I just did some housekeeping on my blogroll. As always, it’s a work in progress – travel writing friends, let me know if I’ve missed you.
Posted in Updates | Tagged Haiti, New Orleans, PNW, Vancouver, World Hum | 4 Comments »
December 23, 2009 by evaholland
That’s the Dutch fourteen year-old who’s been blocked by a Netherlands court from attempting to sail around the world solo – she’d been aiming to set a new world record for the youngest sailor ever to manage the feat. After she managed to run away to the Caribbean last week, defying a court order, she’s facing not just occasional monitoring by childcare authorities – they’re actually talking about taking her into protective custody.
Ever since I heard of Dekker a few months back – when her attempt was first postponed, while she was still just thirteen – I’ve been trying to sort out my feelings on the case. On the surface, the whole thing seems absurd, a clear over-reach on the part of Dutch authorities: After all, she’s an experienced sailor, and her primary guardian, her father, is entirely behind the effort. (Her mother is against it.)
But then questions start to pop up. For instance: Is it really that far beyond standard levels of government “interference” in child-rearing?
Continue Reading »
Posted in Tangents | Tagged Sailing | 6 Comments »
December 15, 2009 by evaholland
A couple of quick notes: First, this past Friday at World Hum was devoted to “Up in the Air,” the travel-themed movie that looks set to tear up the awards circuit this year. It was adapted from a Walter Kirn novel of the same name, which Jim and Mike have been keeping tabs on since World Hum was brand new. (Among other things, the novel is the source of one of our main themes – “Airworld.”)
Here’s our coverage:
Beyond Airworld – A look at “the bittersweet challenge of the traveler’s life”
A video interview with director Jason Reitman and author Walter Kirn
A whole whack of links related to the movie, the book and Airworld in general
I haven’t seen the movie yet, but here’s hoping it makes it this far north.
Second, I’m thrilled to see that a travel book has FINALLY made its way into the What is Stephen Harper Reading? project. If you’re not familiar, WISHR is author Yann Martel’s one-man effort to make our illustrious Prime Minister more appreciative of the arts – or, in his own words, “to make suggestions to his stillness” – by sending him a series of carefully chosen books. The latest? “Tropic of Hockey” by former Rheostatics frontman Dave Bidini. Here’s what Martel had to say in his accompanying letter to the PM:
Tropic of Hockey is about one man’s love for the game and his quest for its soul. This quest leads him to places where you wouldn’t expect to see ice hockey. And as different as those places are, the spirit of the game, by Bidini’s reckoning, burns with the same intensity as it does in his rec league in Toronto. He finds in Harbin, northern China, in Dubai, in Miercurea Ciuc, Transylvania, the refreshing purity of a game that is not mere entertainment but a way of meeting and being, hockey as culture rather than business, “the spirituality of sports, sports as life,” as he puts it at one point.
I’ve been meaning to read this book for a couple of years now, so thanks, Yann Martel, for the reminder. (And for the effort to expand Prime Minister Harper’s stillness, too.)
Posted in Stories, Tangents | Tagged Books, Movies, World Hum | Leave a Comment »
December 1, 2009 by evaholland
I arrived here in Whitehorse Saturday night, and am slowly getting set up in my new home. I’m still recovering from the drive – it was a more thoroughly exhausting trip than I really expected – and processing the experience, but in the meantime here are a couple of blog posts I wrote from the road:
The Coldest Morning
Canadian Beauty
I’ve also updated my Blogging page for the first time in ages, to include a couple of personal posts I wrote during my Caribbean and Yukon/Alaska travels last summer.
Posted in Updates | Tagged Blogging, Yukon | 2 Comments »
November 24, 2009 by evaholland
The sun went down just before I hit the mountains last night, so I drove the last hour or so into Jasper with only a vague sense of the dark, snow-smeared shapes rising around me. This is where I woke up this morning:
Skytram Road, Jasper National Park
Posted in Photos | Tagged Canada, Road Trips | 1 Comment »
November 21, 2009 by evaholland
Late yesterday afternoon, after nearly 24 hours of total highway driving time spread over three days, I crossed out of Ontario and into Manitoba. I’m headed to Saskatoon today, and will spend most of the weekend there before heading into the Rocky Mountains on Sunday!
Posted in Photos, Updates | Tagged Canada, Road Trips | Leave a Comment »
November 17, 2009 by evaholland
I’m off on the first leg of my trans-Canada drive this morning – Ottawa to Sudbury. The whole trip should last about two weeks, and I’ll aim to post some photos and occasional observations en route.
More to come!
Posted in Updates | Tagged Canada, Road Trips | 3 Comments »
