An author panel with Sylvia Brownrigg, Kerry Tepperman Campbell, Geoff Dyer, John Freeman.

Travel writing is about aspiration as much as place, about a state of being—a hoped-for transformation of identity—as much as a physical landscape. The best travel writing is about exploration of “the other” and an embrace of this new terrain into self and one’s understanding of the greater world. These four writers explore the concept of “place” from very different perspectives. Sylvia Brownrigg’s “Invisible Countries,” a gorgeous, artist-illustrated Sylph Edition collection of witty, lyrical short pieces, is inspired by Calvino’s guide to imaginary cities. Kerry Campbell’s “Dreaming of France” is about the imagining of place, about self as defined by a place. Geoff Dyer’s “White Sands” defies categorization as his travels, compelling and often humorous, become profound metaphors. Literary critic John Freeman’s first book of poetry, “Maps,” charts the past and present by way of places from New York City to Beirut to American suburbia.