Bouchard-Roberts, Conner: A Field Companion for Wandering

Winter texts, paperback

Publication Date: February 1, 2022

Publisher Marketing: A travel guide for the contemplative and/or foolish

This book has been with me since the very beginning. Or at least a version of it has. "A Field Companion for Wandering" is the 5th iteration of my book on travel and in-between-spirits. It was the writing project that accompanied me through dark times, and carved the path into publishing as an artistic practice. Designed as a "travel guide" this book is an intentionally genre-less object that weaves a wide variety of writing styles and design elements into a single text.

Compact. Contemplative. Mobile. Elliptical.

One one hand, this is my Anti-Lonely-Planet manifesto. Working to critique forms of commercial and colonial travel that have taken over our imaginations of the world.

On the other hand, this is the best I can do in crafting a sincere text that is meant to be read while travelling. A text that inspires contact with strangers, that changes meaning based on where/when you read it, that never offers answers, and most simply is a companion to the loneliness and fear one encounters when out in the world.

I designed it to be read from any page. Containing many routes that offer different experiences. Gathered loosely into the 4 sections of any journey: Almost Gone, Gone, Long Gone, and Back. Each section lingers in a sense of that experience.

This book remains at the heart of the Winter texts project. And I imagine it will continue to grow and travel with me in the years to come. It, like Winter texts, is a meeting-place of ideas, experiences, and voices. Riding like a crow across the currents of being and unbeing.