Recently, a journalism student in the U.K. emailed me for insights on a paper she was writing about why backpackers choose to travel to politically and economically unstable countries. Do independent travelers seek these places because they think they can help, she asked, or is there some different reason? Since I find this topic interesting,...

Above : Bourdain strikes a new pose. I opened The New Yorker this week to discover that the advertisement for travel-chef Anthony Bourdain's television show, No Reservations , has been altered. Last September, you will recall that I disparaged the original ad for Bourdain's show, which inanely implored readers to "be a traveler, not a...

Above : The real Rod, or an impersonator? My sister Kristin recently traveled to New Orleans with students from a January-term travel-writing class she's teaching at Bethany College (where she's an associate English professor). While in a Pirate's Alley bar in the heart of the French Quarter, Kristin and her students met a well-dressed man...

I just got back from a magazine assignment on the Caribbean island of Grenada -- and I've spent the past couple days catching up on various tasks, including my notes and comments on the Key West Literary Seminar , which I attended earlier this month. I'll be sharing a number of items from Key West...