A memoir by Colleen J. McElroy

April 1, 1997 • 6 x 9 • 200 pages • 978-1-56689-059-5

“Grandmother Anna Belle Lee: ‘Chile, they got some of us everywhere.’ Thus began my wanderlust.”

“McElroy, a poet (What Madness Brought Me Here, Univ. of New England, 1990) and teacher (English, Univ. of Washington), turns her attention to her travels in this varied collection of essays and poetry. She includes anecdotes from her childhood in St. Louis and homage to role models such as Josephine Baker and Ethel Waters, who helped prepare her for her life of travel. Then she hits the road, starting with Route 66 and venturing over the years to most parts of the world. Her work takes the form of an interior memoir rather than a guidebook. A useful addition to collections of African American literature and culture.” —Library Journal

Reviews

“McElroy’s travel memoirs presents a black woman’s experiences with world travel, creating not a dry observational piece but a spirited focus on a heritage of travel and a woman’s search for adventures and cultural insights. The result is unique to travel literature—and contains much food for thought.” —Midwest Book Review

“This stunning collage of travel memoirs by one of America’s classiest, sassiest poets puts the lust back into wanderlust.” —Al Young

“A Long Way from St. Louie is a delicious collection of rich wanderings.” —Naomi Shihab Nye

“Like Keats, Colleen J. McElroy makes readers long for the deep-delved earth, flora, and the country green. A Long Way from St. Louie transforms readers into wanderers, making us think about the places and families we come from as well as making us ponder places we have seen and places we may see.” —Sam Pickering

“High-spirited, fresh and beautifully written. . . . Her adventures are special not only because of her empathy and curiosity, but also because she experienced them as a black woman in countries that traverse the spectrum of cultures and the understanding of race. . . . This is no ordinary travel book.” —Publishers Weekly

“McElroy, a poet (What Madness Brought Me Here, Univ. of New England, 1990) and teacher (English, Univ. of Washington), turns her attention to her travels in this varied collection of essays and poetry. She includes anecdotes from her childhood in St. Louis and homage to role models such as Josephine Baker and Ethel Waters, who helped prepare her for her life of travel. Then she hits the road, starting with Route 66 and venturing over the years to most parts of the world. Her work takes the form of an interior memoir rather than a guidebook. A useful addition to collections of African American literature and culture.” —Library Journal

“A lovely, lyrical memoir of an African-American woman’s travels through life. . . . McElroy finds much that is amusing, thought-provoking, poignant, and above all beautiful . . . Through it all, McElroy’s marvelous sense of humor shines out and her deeply felt sense of her otherness—as an American abroad and as a black woman everywhere—colors her musings, giving them texture and depth. This is a stunning piece of writing.” —Kirkus