Ever since my days as a travel columnist at Salon.com , academics and graduate students have occasionally contacted me to comment on the state of independent travel, travel writing and literature, and globalization. These topics fascinate me, so I've always enjoyed these dialogues. Since my comments always end up in small-circulation dissertations and theses, however,...

The latest Editor's Choice column at Frommers.com just gave me (and this blog) one of my best reviews of the year. "Award-winning travel writer Rolf Potts' blog is smart, funny, and original," writes Jennifer Anmuth, "and his connected website of stories and photos is a wealth of inspiration and ideas to get you going on...

I'm headed to Greece on magazine assignment, and I'll be there -- mainly in the islands -- for the next four weeks. Since I don't want to spend my travel time skulking around Internet cafes, this means I'll probably only post two (or so) blog entries a week for the next month. Once I return...

I've been monitoring the post-hurricane devastation and chaos in New Orleans this week with much apprehension and sadness. I rang in the 2005 New Year in New Orleans, and lived in the French Quarter for the first three months of this year. Moreover, I'd long planned to go there this week, en route to a...

It's now been about four months since I disabled the comments here at Vagablogging.net -- and I think I'm going to keep them "turned off" indefinitely. I'm doing this not because I dislike comments (to the contrary, I like the interactive nature of blog comments), but because I found the comments were too difficult to...

The current issue of the literary journal Hobart is entirely devoted to travel fiction and nonfiction -- including an experimental story of my own, entitled, "In Varanasi, Death is Not Something". This story began when I was cleaning out some old folders on my laptop and I discovered some original article drafts I'd written for...

I head off for Paris tomorrow to teach my creative writing workshop , so today I wanted to share some new messages from Vagabonding readers. As always, I'm encouraged by the fact that people are finding travel inspiration from my book. Here's an outtake: " I just wanted to say thanks for writing Vagabonding ....

[ Above : The old house where I grew up in Wichita, Kansas.] After thirty-three years of living in one place, my parents have moved from their home in a working-class north Wichita neighborhood to a prairie farmstead near my sister's farm in north-central Kansas. And, while I haven't stayed for more than three successive...

Europe travel icon Rick Steves' appearance on a segment of 60 Minutes late last month has resulted in a strange phenomenon: I've been getting scads of emails from folks who've mistakenly addressed Steves' messages to my address. This, no doubt, is a result of the fact that my May 2003 Rick Steves interview generally shows...

Though the initial enrollment deadline for my creative writing workshop in Paris was last week, I've just been informed that the American Academy has extended the closing date to June 1st. Enrollment will close when the session is full (20 students), however, so earlier is better if you plan on sending in an application. To...

This morning I talked about solo independent travel with writer Wendy Knight and host Marty Moss-Coane for the " Radio Times " program on WHYY in Philadelphia. The recurring refrain, both among myself, Wendy, and call-in listeners, is that traveling alone is a great way to engage and interact with the world around you. An...

I'm still working away in seclusion up in northern Kansas, but I wanted to pop online and post a few items -- including the quote above, as well as some recent missives from Vagabonding readers. Over two years after the book came out, it's great to hear letters like this: "I just finished Vagabonding and...

For next few weeks, I'll be on the family farm in northern Kansas, finishing a screenplay project. This means I'll probably only be blogging about once a week until sometime in May. In the interest of reducing spam, I'm disabling the comments here -- so if you have any questions or comments just send me...

Though I don't typically blog about the mail and feedback I get from Vagabonding readers from week to week, I recently got a couple messages that made me feel great -- and reminded me why I wrote the book in the first place. Here's one: "I wanted to let you know that I really appreciated...

I recently received word that the slots in my Creative Writing Workshop this July at the Paris American Academy are about half full. The application deadline is April 30th (or when all slots have been filled), and you can request an application by sending a query to: info@pariswritingworkshop.com Since six hours of academic credit will...

Travelers' Tales has just released their second-annual Best Travel Writing anthology, which includes selections from the likes of Pico Iyer , Murad Kalam, Mark Jenkins, Susan Orlean, and Michael Shapiro . I'm honored to announce that my Vietnam tale, "Circuit Broken", is also included in the mix. Though publicity for the book is just now...

It's somewhat surreal to be sitting here in New Orleans and following all the BTK Strangler coverage on the news ever since a Park City, Kan. resident was arrested as the suspect . Having grown up in Wichita, the BTK Strangler was my vision of "the bogeyman" for as long as I can remember. So...

[The cover for the Korean translation of Vagabonding .] A recent slew of emails from Korean readers has tipped me off to the fact that a translated edition of Vagabonding has debuted in Korea. Published by Nexus Books, the Korean title of the book is Ddeo-nago Ship-ul Ddae, Ddeo-nala (which, if my rusty Korean serves...

I am still dealing with limited online access in New Orleans, but I wanted to post a quick couple of items: 1) First off, in light of the enormous scope of the south Asian tsunami, I'd like to encourage everyone who reads my blog to donate 10% of their December earnings to tsunami relief efforts...

I am in Memphis at the moment, en route to New Orleans, so this will have to be quick. Since I am on the road at the moment, I am only getting news of the Asian tsunami in bits and pieces, but naturally I am worried about the human toll of the disaster -- particularly...