Psychogeography

The cover is frantic with mixed fonts, a scratchy US flag, an atomic symbol and a jagged rendition of a split personality (or maybe two people of like mind) having one pair of legs and diverging into two upper bodies and heads.   This was so weird I thought I just had to have a look.

Psychogeography by Will Self with pictures by Ralph Steadman (2007  ANF 155.91 SEL) is not quite what I imagined.  It isn’t about how the study of geography and the memorizing of capital cities can make you crazy.  This is at its basic a collection of travel memoirs by Self, but they are much more than memoirs.  In some ways, he is a bit similar to Paul Theroux or Michael Palin.  All of them look at place through multiple lenses – geographical, literary, societal, political – to reveal a complex personality.  Throughout this book are the most unusual travel illustrations penned by Steadman you could imagine.  This compilation is the very best from their ‘Psychogeography’ columns produced for the Independent magazine.

Self starts out this collection of essays by talking about his ‘walk’ to New York.  Of course he really only walks from home to the airport and then from the airport into the city – even he knows one cannot walk on water.  Walking to and from airports is not the norm but it does give him lots of opportunity for his multilevel commentary.  His command of the English language is impressive, and the picture left with you after reading his account is full of colour and depth.  And speaking of colour, illustrator Steadman is a master at pulling together images and colours to add to and accentuate Self’s prose.  

Self then goes on to tackle Rome, the suburbs and Havana …in Brighton, to name but a few.  They are all a delight to read and at the same time thought-provoking.  Have a read and see if you don’t look around you with fresh eyes.

Find this title in the Library’s catalogue

Guest post by Gloria Novak,  former Library Manager at Wellington