Writing Across the Landscape: Travel Journals 1960-2013 [Hardcover]

Detailed and candid insights into Mr. Ferlinghettis life on the road and his assessments of what was unfolding around him as he traveled to Latin America, Europe, the Soviet Union, the United States and beyond&. But what many readers will relish most are those moments when his poetic eye and ear come into play.The closest [San Franciscos] literary trustee has come to writing an autobiography&. A keen eyewitness [and] an advocate for the abolition of all borders and boundaries&Some of the greatest pleasures of reading these funky, sometimes experimental travel journals come when Ferlinghetti makes no attempt to register anything more than the contents of his own mind.[T]ravel writing at its best, filled with sympathetic and enlightening portraits of people and countries whose reality frequently contrasts with depictions of them in the popular press&. Illustrated with many of his hand-drawn sketches, these journals illuminate the inspirations for some of Ferlinghettis best poems and are a major addition to his literary legacy.In often wry and deliciously witty entries, [Ferlinghetti] chronicles his ventures&. Readers curious about how Ferlinghetti's mind works will find this whirlwind ride through Europe and beyond the ultimate vicarious escape, as his anecdotal musings hover over a richly savored life enjoyed without regret or misgivings. The artistic intensity of life suffuses this epic memoir spanning the interior monologues of a gifted American artist.Ferlinghetti is a consistently spirited and astute observer, spiking his vital, frank accounts with cultural, political, and personal insights both funny and stinging in language jazzy and lyrical. Soulfully open to the world and all its sorrows and wonders, Ferlinghetti affirms, in every line, the power of literature and art as essential navigational tools.A stunning portrait of a life&. To those uninitiated into Ferlinghetti's confectionary style, this volume may open a world of good reading of hisl!