Monisha Mukundan – Travel Writing (POSTPONED DUE TO COVID-19 PRECAUTION)

(POSTPONED DUE TO COVID-19 PRECAUTION)

In both travel, and travel writing, the outer journey needs the depth of the inner journey, and the inner journey needs the boldness, the craziness, and the comic relief of the outer journey. Travel writing reminds us who we are, where we’ve been, where we’re going–and why it matters. From the convenient travel tip to the inconvenience of facing ourselves at-large in the world, travel writing is a trip in itself. It offers the writer and the reader both information and inspiration. It brings the world home.

Language Note for Writing Workshops: In these writing workshops, I strongly recommend that participants consider writing in their first language. If we experienced our early lives in a language other than English, it is often that first language that leads the way into our deepest truths and memories. When writing is shared within the group (always voluntarily), it can be shared in the first language and then loosely translated into English. This gives writers access to the freedom and the rhythms of writing that comes naturally through the body as well as through the reflections of the mind. Writing can always be translated into English and grammar can easily be fixed, but to be fully recognized, the memories of heart, mind, and body often need expression through their first language of experience.

Monisha Mukundan has been a writer and editor for the past four decades and more. She edited the ITC Hotels magazine called Namaste, for over thirty years, during which time she edited two volumes of short stories selected from the magazine. Among her publications are a memoir, a cookbook and several books for children. She continues to write of her life in Bir where she now lives for part of each year. This is the second series of writing workshops that Monisha is facilitating at Deer Park.