Author Pico Iyer on how we can keep a sense of wonder in our day-to-day | Going Places magazine

The author of The Art of Stillness and, most recently, Autumn Light, shares his favourite way to discover a city (hint: no apps are involved) and how we can all still keep our sense of wonder and wander in these unprecedented times

“Sitting still is a way of falling in love with the world and everything in it,” reads a line in Pico Iyer’s book The Art of Stillness: Adventures of Going Nowhere. It’s a quote that feels especially timely today, as we come to terms with this change of pace, but it’s also one that might seem at odds for a globetrotting journalist and author whose writing has led him everywhere from the terrains of Tibet to North Korea. Much of Pico’s earlier work, after all, consisted of travel memoirs and portals to some incredible places, although his more recent books, like Autumn Light, touch on the value and virtue of slowness and the journey of discovery from within. 

I spoke with Pico, who’s currently self-isolating in Japan with his wife, on all things travel, his take on the pandemic and how we can still keep our spirits and sense of wonder well and alive even if wandering as we knew it isn’t an option right now. 

Full story on Going Places: https://goingplaces.malaysiaairlines.com/pico-iyer-interview/