Travel has been always been inspirational. Whether you are writing Death in Venice or painting the Golden Gate Bridge, place has been an essential part of artistic inspiration. Even those who don’t travel are inspired by the home that they love.
What is it about place that encompasses us? When we travel, we arrive at a different place, aware of the impact on our senses. The smell of a pine forest, the roar of the subway in the city, the sight of a black ocean beach in Guatemala, these all become such stimulation that we forget what we have left behind and become engrossed in the moment.
I have just returned from a week at the Clearing, in Door County, Wisconsin. I am sure Jens Jensen named it for the natural habitat in parts of his landscape architecture, but it is also a place where a person can clear one’s head. I had been neglecting my writing for the last several months and wasn’t sure I would be able to write any poetry that I would feel good about. I carried these apprehensions with me from Illinois. It wasn’t until I was surrounded by trees, birds, wildflowers and fresh Lake Michigan air that I began to relax and realize that it would be okay if I wrote lousy poetry. Of course, I didn’t. What I did do was choose a theme for a chapbook of poetry and write some poems that would fit into it (and some that wouldn’t).
I’m back home again, where I can have my favorite food and drinks, sleep soundly most of the time, get exercise, quilt with my quilting friends, read with my book clubs, celebrate family events, and be alone when I need to recharge. I carry all the travels I have had with me, just as I carry home with me when I travel. I am grateful for all the experiences I have had in life, even the difficult ones, and look forward to my next trip. I will probably be heading to New York in November to meet a new grandchild. That will be a place and time I will not forget.
