Friends and Colleagues from Around the World,
This year, I’m working on a new book, The Moritz Thomsen Reader. I’ll outline the initial plan, ask for input, and end with an updated Calendar. But first, click on the Poster above to see the latest Arizona Authors Association Digest, which includes the Million Mile Walker Review on top books for 2024 (pg. 23), a sighting of my latest book in Antigua Guatemala (pg. 10) and my critique of Paul Theroux’s essay on Expats, as well as my latest essay on traveling with granddaughters (pg. 54).
Moritz is part of a talented pool of over 3,000 former Peace Corps authors. Sixty-five years ago, he produced Living Poor, which is recognized as the best of the Peace Corps experience memoirs. Like many Peace Corps Volunteers, I read the book while doing agricultural experiments in Guatemala. Over the years, I read all five of his books and consider him my literary patron saint.
The Saddest Pleasure: A Journey on Two Rivers was my favorite, and several years ago, I was delighted to see his last book, Bad News from a Black Coast, emerge 27 years after his death.
In 2018, John Coyne of Peace Corps Worldwide introduced me to travel writer Tom Miller (The Panama Hat Trail), who wanted someone to write a bibliography about Moritz. In 1996, six years after Moritz passed, Miller and Paul Theroux planned to write a celebratory book about Moritz but never completed the task. They had a formidable list of authors who had written about Moritz, including Theroux, Miller, Martha Gellhorn, Natalie Goldberg, Wallace, and Page Stegner.
Tom Miller donated five boxes of materials about Moritz, his drawings, letters, and essays about Moritz to the University of Arizona. He took me through to select the salient materials for the book. He helped design and edit some of the articles I wrote about Moritz and fittingly, I’m writing the book in his honor as well as Patricia Wand. Unfortunately, I was unsuccessful when I sent my proposal to a dozen publishers, including Eland Press out of London, which republished two of Moritz’s books. But they did publish my essay about Moritz’s work: Eland Newsletter.
After interviewing some of the more seasoned Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (RPCV) authors this year, I concluded that although some 100,000 have read Living Poor, Mortiz’s books have remained in libraries and some bookstores. His work isn’t that well known to the broader public.
This time around, I’ll start the book with passages from his five books as an introduction to potential readers not familiar with him, which will benefit the publishers and, hopefully, convince one of them to take the project on.
Part II of the book will highlight the essays of some of the 18 potential author contributors who have written about Moritz and/or been impacted by his writing. Some of his correspondence numbered in multiple thousands. According to one letter, Moritz said that he could only respond to five letters daily on his typewriter, often in Ecuador’s hot, humid jungle. And yet, despite his propensity for separating himself from the outside world—or perhaps because of his isolation—he corresponded with numerous authors, publishers, and professionals.
Upon returning from one trip abroad, he said he had found close to 400 letters to answer. According to author Tom Miller, Thomsen was a “wicked” literary critic, “…the severity of one letter from him could often take days before its impact wore off.” Here’s the link to my description of his missives: “Moritz Thomsen: His Letters and His Legacy“ (Ecuador) – Peace Corps Worldwide
The appendix will include a map, timeline, annotated notes, some of his ink sketches, and a bibliography for those who want to learn more. For those who appreciate Moritz Thomsen, here are some ways to help with this ambitious project:
- Suggest titles: The Moritz Thomsen Reader: From Affluence to Living Poor or?
- What to include on the cover. I like the photo from Eland Press’s version of Living Poor, which is above.
- Find how many copies of each of his books were sold.
- Please open doors to any of the publishers of Moritz’s books, Steerforth, Vantage Books, Graywolf Press, and the University of Washington Press so I can get permission to include passages from their books.
- Suggest any other publishers who might be interested in the book.
- Do you have any new stories or materials about Moritz? I’m still submitting letters from Moritz to the Special Collection at the University of Arizona.
Calendar
- March 15: Participate in a panel presentation on marketing and promoting author’s books at the Phoenix Writers Club.
You can find my 85 book reviews and 28 articles, plus several videos and photos, on my website, including a reduced price for my new book, if you read it and pass it along to your local library: http://millionmilewalker.com. “Follow” me on Blue Sky—at (2) @millionmilewalker.bsky.social — Bluesky, Substack- Mark D Walker| Substack – and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/millionmilewalker/ for the latest international affairs and literature. And please share the link to the sign-up page to the Dispatch for any friends you think will enjoy it. Million Mile Walker Newsletter – Million Mile Walker.
And, as always, if you’ve read Different Latitudes: My Life in the Peace Corps and Beyond, My Saddest Pleasures: 50 Years on the Road, the Best Travel Book according to the Peace Corps Writers, and, of course, my most recent book, The Guatemala Reader, please review and rate them on Amazon and Goodreads.
Shalom!
Mark D. Walker