By Elizabeth Tertadian
On Tuesday, Paul Theroux, acclaimed travel writer, visited UP as part of the Schoenfeldt Writer's Series. Introduced by English professor Lars Larson as "the world's most famous stranger," Theroux spoke about his travels and the writers who inspired him along the way.
"I chose a place unrequited by man," Theroux said.
He emphasized the importance of travel to become a great writer, reading short excerpts of travel stories to engage the audience.
"I liked how he used famous writers in the past, like Wordsworth and Thoreau, to elaborate on his speaking points," freshman Kyler Matosich said. "Unfortunately he didn't talk a great deal about himself, which was disappointing."
Matosich was one of the many students who attended the reading as part of their Introduction to Literature class.
Theroux talked mostly about the history and lives of the writers who inspired him, focusing on William Wordsworth and Henry David Thoreau. He explained how Wordsworth walked over 175,000 miles in his lifetime, over 30 miles a day, and undertook a "solve by walking" model.
According to Theroux, this model is engrained in the minds of all great writers.
"If you want to write, leave home," he said.
Theroux identified himself as a stranger, and said that it was the best way to be. After graduating from college, Theroux entered into the Peace Corps, and spent over 10 years in Africa. At 22 years old, he found the landscape full of natural beauty.
"All travel is recapturing empty landscape, a sense of lost time," Theroux said. "It's like living in a useful antique."
The theme of a useful past is one that runs through his most recent novel, "A Dead Hand."
In an echo of the way in which Larson introduced him, Theroux said that being a stranger is the best way to be.
Theroux has written several novels, his latest being "A Dead Hand." In 1977, Theroux won an award in Literature from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and the Royal Geographic Society in Britain.
