Georgia: Portraits from a nation on the brink

Award-winning journalist and travel writer Stephen Robert Morse details his travels to the Republic of Georgia that took place in early 2011. The Republic of Georgia is an inherently interesting country because of its location at the geographic, political, economic, and cultural intersection of East and West. At different times and by different people, Georgia has been considered part of Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Central Asia, the Caucasus, the former Soviet Union, Russia, and perhaps more. Because it is both remote and small, Georgia is underreported in Western media. The country is thus a breeding ground for stories just waiting to be written. Today, Georgia faces a unique set of challenges that I explore in depth within the project. The following pieces are written in a style of literary reportage that would be at home in Harper’s Magazine or The New Yorker. In this tour de force, Stephen Robert Morse provides sharp observations that mix heartbreaking tales with laugh out loud humor.