Interface Geography and literature

With a derivative base and integrative aim, it is the very essence of geography to ’borrow’. The direction, extent and perhaps reciprocity of its borrowing varies not least with the perceived focus of geography itself. If the literal translation ’earth description ’ is broadly interpreted as human-environment relations and taken as the main thrust, then the interface with literature, with its integrated triad of person, plot and place, is an essential field for geography no less than for any other discipline attempting an explication of the human condition (Thorpe, 1967). In this review the interface between geography and literature will focus on writing variously termed imaginative, creative or serious; a further refinement is a concentration on English literature or literature from the English-speaking world. These constraints are imposed by the reviewer’s interest and competence when faced with the very size of the field: they do not imply judgement on other forms of writing or literature from other cultures. At the outset it is evident that interest in the interface has been largely unidirectional. One critic even queried why we should expect a reciprocal interest: why a discipline indeed should be expected to have anything valuable to contribute to literature (Lewis, 1969). Only a few acknowledge, or seem aware of, a neglect of setting or landscape, with its possible influence on action an