Rick Steves's On the Hippy Trail: Istanbul to Kathmandu and the Making of a Travel Writer

In the early a.m., I finished Rick Steves's On the Hippy Trail: Istanbul to Kathmandu and the Making of a Travel Writer, and I'd describe it as a fun, glossy memoir or travel narrative. Others would say that it is primarily a collection of journals. In any event, the journey from Southeastern Europe through Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and Nepal occurred in 1978, only a year before the Iranian Revolution and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Reading it reminded me of reading several of Paul Theroux's travel narratives early in the pandemic after only having read one of his brother Alexander's novels previously. It's good to get away, and travel writers offer an opportunity to do so when we're anchored in domestic environs.

Kathmandu

 

~~ from On the Hippie Trail by Rick Steves

the Poet Laureate of Generation X

"Tonight, I'm thinking that Michael Robbins is the Poet Laureate of Generation X. / I wonder if that's been said before or how often about Robbins or any other writer"

~~ Alex Kudera on Goodreads, August 16, 2026

A revised version:

"I'm thinking that Michael Robbins may be the Poet Laureate of Generation X. I wonder if that's been said before or how often about Robbins or any other writer."

~~ Alex Kudera, August 26, 2026

A second revised version:

"I'm thinking that Michael Robbins may be the Poet Laureate of Nixon babies. I wonder if that's been said before or how often about Robbins or any other writer."

~~ Alex Kudera, August 26, 2026

In India, time is like bubble gum

~~ from On the Hippie Trail by Rick Steves

 

John Keene

Enjoy this engaging discussion between John Keene and host Mark de Silva. It's at various points, intellectual, intense, animated, spirited, warm, and even joyful. You won't want to miss the writing life or this show.

serious lit

Dmitriy Kogan's serious-lit published an early masterpiece.