Although my favorite genre is poetry, I love writing non-fiction as well. In grad school at Minnesota State University, Mankato, I took a great non-fiction writing workshop from award-winning writer Richard Terrill. Then a couple summers ago I took a wonderful class on literary travel writing from Lon Otto at the Iowa Summer Writing Festival. For that class we read Eric Newby's A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush, billed on the book cover as "a classic tale from one of the world's best-loved travel writers." We also got to pick a book to read for the class, and I chose Wind, Sand and Stars by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. After focusing on my poetry writing, it's been freeing to have a more expansive canvas such as non-fiction.
Who are some of your favorite travel writers? What are your favorite travel books?