Four Questions on Farsickness is an interview series with creative writers for whom place is essential to their work. Each writer answers the same four questions—and featured here is memoirist, travel essayist, and poet Suzanne Roberts, whose new book, Bad Tourist: Misadventures in Love and Travel, was just released by the University of Nebraska Press.
1. Share a little about where you’re from. When you were growing up, what place—real or imagined—most fascinated you, and why?
I was born in New York but moved to Southern California when I was a toddler. My dad grew up on the east coast, so with what little money he had, he bought a house in Fire Island, which is off the coast of New York. My parents spent their early summers there together before I was born and when I was a baby. Though we only went back a few times in my childhood before my parents had to sell it, it was a special place to me, not just because of my experiences there but because of its place in my parents’ stories and our collective imaginations. It’s the site of my very first memory but also in the old photographs, my parents never looked so happy as they were there. Last year, my sisters and I rented a house there, and one morning, we woke up before sunrise and scattered my parents’ ashes in the ocean. It’s a place I hope to continue to return to, though it’s so very expensive now.
2. What travel has been a particular inspiration to your work?
Travel in general has been inspirational to me, whether that’s been my own backyard or on the other side of the planet, but when I look at where most of my writing is concentrated, it’s in Latin America, India, and the UK. All of these places have captured my imagination in different ways. I have spent a lot of time in Mexico and in Central and South America, and the culture, the language, the food, the people—everything—make me feel happy and relaxed, even if the travel is stressful. And India…I would say there is no way to describe India, but for a writer, that’s a cop out, isn’t it? Especially because I have written so many chapters in my new book, Bad Tourist, about India. It’s such a varied and ancient culture—so much history, art, culture, color—it’s a vibrant place that enters through every sense, whether that’s the taste of the curry, the smell of incense, the explosion of bright textiles, the sound of the call to prayer. And the juxtapositions—the culture is old, so they have things figured out in some ways that we, in the west, haven’t yet learned, especially when it comes to life and death. One of the most memorable experiences of my life was watching the bodies burn at the edge of the Ganges River. When my mother died, I asked if I could witness the cremation, and the funeral parlor acted like I was asking for something unusual and distasteful. They made excuses and said they would have to postpone the cremation. Because I wanted it done as soon as possible, I gave up on the idea of seeing it happen. I wanted that closure, but I couldn’t get it, not in that way. And lastly, the United Kingdom, and the north of England, especially, has been an inspiration to me because that’s where my mother grew up. I’ve travelled back there since she died, in search of the young woman she was before she moved to California. I still have relatives there and have claimed my British citizenship, so I may be spending more time there in the future.
3. Where do you “escape to” to recharge creativity?
I definitely escape to the wilderness, and since I live in Lake Tahoe, I can do that on a daily basis. Hiking, backpacking, mountain biking, and skiing are my “escapes,” but also feel like a way to get back to reality. My first memoir, Almost Somewhere, is about my connection to the wilderness, to the outdoors, especially from a woman’s perspective.
4. Where would you most like to travel to next?
I would usually have an answer for this question that was a far-flung place, somewhere not only far away but difficult to get to—Antarctica, Bhutan, Papa New Guinea…and all of these are true, but in the time of Covid, I really just want to see the ocean or visit my sisters in San Francisco and Santa Fe or friends in Los Angeles and Portland. It’s interesting to me how the places closer to home are now more appealing! While I really also want to get back to England to see family there, I won’t be getting on a plane until there’s a vaccine or proven treatment, so I am thinking about the places closer to home that I really want to see or re-see—the Oregon coast, Death Valley, Joshua Tree, the central coast of California. I would also really like to go heli-skiing in the Ruby Mountains this winter, if that’s an option.
Credit: Candice Vivien
