Fischer), and Zach (Philadelphia, Pico Iyer). On the first day, I befriended two other young writers, Kate (hometown: Boston writing hero: M.F.K.
I had exactly one published story to my name, a short piece for an obscure website. So many writers I’d long admired, whose stories and voice and attention to detail I was forever trying to reverse-engineer as I dreamed of my own career in travel writing. Harris talking to me, offering tips on pâtisseries in Paris.
I spent the four days of sessions and socializing in an elated daze: there was Tony Horwitz, there was Mary Morris, here was Eddy L. It was 2006 the seminar topic was “The Literature of Adventure, Travel, and Discovery.” I was twenty-four and an avid reader of travel writing. I look at it now and I think, “Man, what an unfashionable goofball!” and “Was I truly that happy?” and, finally, “Yes. The only photographic evidence I have from my first Key West Literary Seminar is a fading print in which I’m standing in Mallory Square, wearing a white cable-knit sweater and baggy khakis and a grin that stretches halfway to Miami. My own photos weren’t always great, so I’ve sourced others in a few cases, as noted.Doug Mack at KWLS in 2017. Photos by Doug Mack unless otherwise stated. Here are some highlights-and, of course, they’re just the beginning of the territories’ stories.Īt the end, I’ve included a couple of Minor Outlying Islands, which I didn’t visit myself (they’re remote, uninhabited and technically off-limits) but also hold Hollywood-worthy tales. And I also journeyed down back roads and into the jungle to see buildings and sites from the territories’ pasts, including some places that truly altered the course of history and deserve far more attention. I spoke to hundreds of people about their everyday lives and the vibrant cultures and stories of these often-overlooked parts of the USA.
Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands-while researching my new book, THE NOT-QUITE STATES OF AMERICA, which examines the territories’ role in American history, past and present. I visited all five territories-Puerto Rico, the U.S.
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