Literature and travel. They’re as good together as chocolate and peanut butter. Thanks, Reese’s! One of my favorite things to do while traveling, is visit an author’s home. I find it inspiring and motivating to be in the presence of greatness, and I often leave a visit with a renewed commitment to my writing.
I’ve seen many homes already and plan to keep going, but one of the challenges in planning a visit like this, is that there’s no clearing house of information on these homes. They’re not exactly Disney (to some), so tourism guides often overlook them.
A.N. Devers, a writer with an obsession similar to mine (the literary/travel one, not the chocolate/peanut butter one), found the same thing. In response, she created Writers’ Houses, an online travel guide to writers’ homes in the U.S., with a sprinkling of homes around the world. The homes are searchable by author, city, state, or country. Each listing includes links, photos, hours, addresses, and other details to help make trip planning easier.
The website, launched in July 2010, is a work-in-progress, and Ms. Devers hopes to expand it with contributions from other literary travelers.
If armchair travel is more your speed, Writers’ Houses is a fun place to visit. Just point and click to visit Walt Whitman’s birthplace, Flannery O’Connor’s childhood home, or the F. Scott & Zelda Fitzgerald Museum.
To get your trip started, here are a few of the literary landmarks I’ve visited:
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Away with Words 