SSR on Tim Young’s chapter 1900-present

By Phoebe Hamilton

Complete citation:

Youngs, Tim. (2013). Chapter 5 - 1900–present. The Cambridge Introduction to Travel Writing, 68-84. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511843150.006

Image Credit: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17822271-the-cambridge-introduction-to-travel-writing, accessed 27 July 2020

Key Words: Travel writing; Modern; Travel; 20^th century; Transport; Postcolonial

Brief Overview: Detailed analysis of several interwar women’s magazines. The book attempts a close examination of their literature, articles, advertising, and art.

Summary of key points:

There are three prominent factors in travel writing: ‘the Petrol Age’ which changed people’s sense of speed, engagement with landscape, and relationship with each other; intellectual and aesthetic movements which influenced ideas of self, truth and authority, and artistic expression; and, the changing politics of ‘race’ and decolonization, as well as the rise of liberational movements, produced travel texts to challenge colonial stereotypes.

·      Car travel offered a closer view of nature and culture than that of train travel.

·    The interwar period was a unique time when modern modes of transport, such as the airplane, allowed access to before unreachable locations.

·   Travel writing was a popular form of writing for many prominent poets and authors of the early 20^th century.

·       There were fears that travel writing would push the city onto the country, polluting it.

·   The many generalisations and multiple opinions of travel writers made them unreliable sources for travelers to follow and turn to for advice.

·         Personality and storytelling were successful techniques used by travel writers during the 20^th century.

Important Quotations:

“Innovations in technologies of travel made people more aware of how their experiences were affected by the mode of transport.” (69)

“The attractions for motor enthusiasts include a greater freedom to choose one’s own route than was possible for rail passengers, and the ever-increasing distances that can be travelled while still motoring for pleasure.” (69-70)

“Many prominent modernist writers, better known for their other prose works or for their poetry, produced travel texts.” (71)

“…the growing feeling during the interwar years that tourism is making travel less authentic and less personal.” (73)

“The admission of multiple perspectives, alternative truths and realities, is accompanied by a statement on the difficulty of reaching general conclusions: ‘I thought how every safe generality I gathered in my travels was canceled by another’.”(76)

“Twentieth-century travel writing is characterised by this emphasis on the lone traveler whose observations are made to carry more force by the weight of personality.” (80)

“The later twentieth century sees the stronger emergence of a postcolonial sensibility in travel writing.” (81)

Usefulness to our group topic or individual project:

This chapter looks at the style and topics of travel writings in the early 20^th century. It would be useful for anybody looking at travelling writing during the interwar period, or somebody interested in the techniques and styles used by travel writers.