Where the World Was

by Rosemary Sullivan

“As a poet and writer, [Rosemary Sullivan] knows that life is lived not as theory but as practice, that . . . you can understand nothing about a place without listening to individual people and their stories.” — Margaret Atwood Incomparable writer, activist, and world traveller Rosemary Sullivan has at long last written a book about herself, about her life quest to “meet the world, to celebrate its richness, to face its darkness.” And what a fascinating book it is! Comprised of 21 essays spanning 5 decades and multiple continents, Where the World Was offers a vivid portrait of a writer who is instinctively drawn to other cultures and places. Whether writing about a solo vacation inside the Iron Curtain, meeting the reclusive writer Elizabeth Smart in a dilapidated cottage in the English countryside, reflecting on how Chilean society responded to Pinochet’s coup, or tracking down the people who knew Svetlana Alliluyeva for Stalin’s Daughter , Sullivan delivers a master class in cultural studies, human rights advocacy, and empathy for the human condition.

304 pages, Paperback

Published September 19, 2023

About the author

Rosemary Sullivan is a Canadian poet, biographer, and anthologist. She is also a professor emerita at University of Toronto.

Reviews

[Stephanie H · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book contains various essays spanning several decades of the author’s travels around the world.

I found a lot of these essays really spoke to me and the life stage that I’m in where I just seem to want to know things and stories. I found Sullivan’s writing both easy to read and heavy so that it took me a bit longer to read this book than it would have another book of its length. I felt between chapters I needed to take a break to let things settle into my mind.

I quite enjoyed this book and am very glad I read it. I learned a lot about the world!

[Enid Wray · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice little ‘travelogue’ - meandering through her adventures in life.

Think “If it’s Tuesday it must be Belgium." A ramble here, a ramble there… and on to the next one. A vicarious distraction for a rainy day.