Interview with Samanth Subramanian. Issue 1 (2nd January 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Hannigan, Tim
• Is Part Of: Studies in travel writing. Volume 23:Issue 1(2019)
• Page Start: 70
• Page End: 85
• Publication Date: 2019-01-02
• Subjects: Travel writing -- journalism -- reportage -- India -- Sri Lanka; Travelers' writings -- History and criticism -- Periodicals; 820.9355
• DOI: 10.1080/13645145.2019.1667639
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1755-7550

Abstract

ABSTRACT: In conversation with Tim Hannigan in Dublin on 23 November 2017, Samanth Subramanian discusses his work as a journalist and travel writer. He considers the distinctions between, and intersections of, journalism and travel writing in his books, Following Fish (2012) and This Divided Island (2015), and his affiliation with the American long-form journalism tradition. He discusses the ethical challenges involved in writing about the lives of those affected by conflict, with reference to his work on Sri Lanka. He also reflects on his own position as an internationally mobile Indian writer, disrupting traditional ideas of a "West to East" power dynamic, but also revealing the potential ethical issues in other, emerging imbalances of power and privilege.