The strangers we meet on the road, and how they can deepen our journey

“Part of what enabled me to kiss that stranger was knowing I would never see him again.”  –Colleen Kinder

In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Colleen discuss why she started the magazine Off Assignment, and how it came to encompass letters to strangers (2:30); some of the specific stories included in Letter to a Stranger, and the role potential romance can play in meeting strangers (9:00); Rolf’s memorable travel strangers, how new travelers interact with people and places with a different energy than seasoned travelers or expats (27:00); places that force us into contact with strangers, like subways and hostels (33:00); and what it’s like to see travelers as a stationary person, and what local strangers must think of travelers (42:00).

Colleen Kinder (@colleenkinder) is an essayist and editor whose work has appeared in the New York Times Magazine, the New Republic, and The Best American Travel Writing. She is the editor of the anthology Letter to a Stranger: Essays to the Ones Who Haunt Us.

Colleen’s magazine Off Assignment accepts “Letter to a Stranger” submissions from all manner of travelers. If you’d like to submit an 800-1500-word letter to an unshakeable stranger you’ve met on the road, please read the magazine’s submission guidelines.

Notable Links:

• Leslie Jamison (essayist)
• Pico Iyer (travel author)
• Interview with Julia Cooke (Deviate episode)
• Lavinia Spalding (travel author)
• “To a Stranger,” by Walt Whitman (poem)
• Ficar (Brazilian Portuguese slang)
• Speed dating (matchmaking process)
• Hijab (garment worn by some Muslim women)
• “Blot Out,” (Egypt essay by Colleen Kinder)
• Craig Mod (writer)
• Before Sunrise (1995 travel movie)
• Ajijic (Mexican town popular with retiree expats)
• Leaving the Atocha Station (novel by Ben Lerner)
• Semester at Sea (study-abroad program)

The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber.

Note: We don’t host a “comments” section, but we’re happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.