645 Items Tagged

Literature

"The starting point of the journey of <em>Oku no Hosomichi</em>."

The Site of Yatate Hajime

The site where the poet Matsuo Bashō read one of the first haiku that comprise his famous travelogue.

Captain George Pollard House

Nantucket, Massachusetts

Captain George Pollard House

The island home of an unlucky whaling captain whose story inspired a great American novel.

The safety doors of some Seoul metro stations are decorated with poetry.

On Streets and Subways in South Korea, Poetry Hides in Plain Sight

You'll find poems in hostels, restaurants, and even on mountain trails—if you know where to look.

Jimin Kang August 24, 2020

James Baldwin worked on his first novel in Paris, and he ultimately spent decades living in France.

The Hidden Histories of Black Americans in Paris

Follow in the footsteps of James Baldwin, Josephine Baker, and Langston Hughes.

Karen Chernick August 21, 2020

The tombstone of Beauford Delaney at the Parisian Cemetery of Thiais in Thiais, France.

Grave of Beauford Delaney

The formerly unmarked grave of the noted Black American painter, who was a friend to James Baldwin.

These woodcuts are from the <em>Decameron</em>, a collection of novellas in which young people fleeing plague-ridden Florence tell stories that often provide accounts of life during the pandemic.

In 14th-Century Florence, Some Residents Socially Distanced While Others Hit the Bars

A contemporary debate would feel familiar to Europeans alive when the Bubonic plague arrived.

Rachel Ashcroft August 19, 2020

The watchtower and the lighthouse

Massa Lubrense, Italy

Punta Campanella

A crumbling watchtower and a lighthouse overlooks the site believed to be the Sirens' cliff in the "Odyssey."

Kelmscott, England

Kelmscott Manor

The country home of world-famous designer, writer, and artist extraordinaire, William Morris.

Inside the apartment

Stockholm, Sweden

Astrid Lindgrens Hem (Astrid Lindgren's House)

The apartment where Pippi Longstocking came to life.

"It's scary and dark out in the dark forest."

Read 8 Pieces of Creative Writing Inspired by Atlas Obscura Stories

We gave you the opening lines. You gave us inspired storytelling.

Michelle Cassidy June 4, 2020

Permanently Closed

BooksActually

An independent bookstore and press with a large collection of local and English-language literature.

In 1832, cholera killed more than 10 percent of Sligo's population.

The Deadly Irish Epidemic That Helped Bring Dracula to Life

Forget Vlad the Impaler. A 19th-century cholera outbreak in Sligo may have been Bram Stoker's chief inspiration.

Ronan O'Connell June 3, 2020

The Old Dutch Church

Sleepy Hollow, New York

Headless Horseman Bridge

The real-life site of Ichabod Crane's infamous gourd attack.

Guildford's Alice sculpture, 2018.

Guildford, England

'Alice and the White Rabbit'

This sculpture combines the literary Alice with her real-life inspiration.

The Xu Zhimo Memorial.

Cambridge, England

Xu Zhimo Memorial

A monument to one of the most famous modernist Chinese poems and its poet.

Sauran, Kazakhstan

Ruins of Sauran

This was once the largest city in Kazakhstan, and a major stop on the Silk Road.

The private residence where Dodgson and his sisters once lived

Guildford, England

The Chestnuts

The author of Alice in Wonderland spent his final years at this whimsical Victorian home.

Every journey begins with a single step.

Writing Challenge: Pen a Story Based on an Intriguing First Line

We'll get you started, the ending is up to you.

Michelle Cassidy May 14, 2020