Literary travel, also known as literary tourism is a type of cultural tourism. It involves events and places contained in fictional texts, and their authors’ lives. Some examples are places linked to the novel or novelist, visiting the poet’s grave, or following the route that a fictional character took. Some people refer to literary travel as a type of pilgrimage. Long-distance walking routes are also connected to the writers.
Literary tourists are usually fascinated about how certain locations have influenced writers, and also how the writing has created locations. If you want to be a literary tourist you only need to enjoy books, and be a curious person. However, there are several literary tours, literary guides, and literary maps to help you. You can also find several museums with ties to writers.
Interest in traveling to locations that had links to novelists and poets became more popular in the 1800s. That is when inquisitive travelers started visiting places linked to them, such as homes and graves. That fact is due to historical records. In addition, travelers visited cities and sites that were mentioned in renowned poems and novels. During this time, there was a link between Shakespeare, and Stratgord, England. Also, there was a link between Sir Walter Scott, and Abbotsford, England. Literary travel to Haworth, England was also popular as it was the home of the Bronte sisters.
The bulk of literary tourism is centered on famous works. However, more contemporary works are actually written to promote tourism. This type of literature is called tourism fiction. Today’s tourism fiction can include travel guides imbedded in the story, revealing to readers how to visit the actual places in the fictional stories. There are even digital tourism fiction books today. These allow literary tourists to follow links to tourism websites connected to the story. Several e-reading gadgets can be used as reading devices, including smartphones, iPhones, iPads, and desktops. These links imbedded in the story give readers the ability to learn quickly about the actual places.
The first classic novel that utilized tourism fiction technology was “This Side of Paradise: Interactive Tourism Edition,” which was written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. This edition was published in 2012 by the Southeastern Literary Tourism Initiative. The tourism edition provided readers with web links for Princeton University tours. That is the actual school that Fitzgerald attended, and is also where Amory Blaine, the novel’s fictional protagonist, attended. The tourism edition also contains links to Montgomery, Alabama. That is where Fitzgerald fell in love with Zelda Sayre, his future wife.
Without a doubt, literary travel is one of the best methods for making books come alive. They aren’t just pages of ink on paper. Instead, they are actual places that are mentioned in novels or poems, or ones that were influential in the lives of the authors and poets. While books allow us to imagine places, literary travel allows us to take the next step. We don’t just read about places, we experience them. This allows our reading to be a physical activity, rather than just a mental activity.