Journeys into the Mind of the World: A Book of Places

Renowned poet Richard Tillinghast's wanderlust and restless spirit are nearly as well-known as his verses. This book of essays captures that penchant to wander, yet Journeys into the Mind of the World is not merely a compilation of travel stories-it is a book of places. It explores the chosen locations in a deeper way than would be typical of travel literature, attempting to enter not just the world, but "the mind of the world"-the roots and history of places, their political and cultural history, spiritual, artistic, architectural, and ethnic dimensions. Behind each essay is the presence, curiosity, and intelligence of the author himself, who uses his experience of the places he visits as a way of bringing the reader into the equation. Tillinghast illuminates his travels with a brilliant eye, a friendly soul, and eclectic knowledge of a variety of disparate areas. This attention to history and cultural embeddedness lends unique perspectives to each essay. The book explores not only Tillinghast's childhood home in Memphis, Tennessee, but even the time before his birth when his mother lived in Paris, Readers will feel a sense of being everywhere of once, in a strange simultaneity, a time and place beyond any map or guidebook.