Touch Anywhere to Begin

by Mark Anthony Jarman

Shortlisted, New Brunswick Book Award (Non-Fiction) From acclaimed author Mark Anthony Jarman comes Touch Anywhere to Begin , his first book of travel writing since the publication of the critically acclaimed Ireland’s Eye in 2002. In 18 unusual, head-spinning essays, Jarman can drift through Venice amid the revelry of carnival and the arrival of the impending pandemic or visit a private club along Shanghai’s Huangpu River to be serenaded by a band of retired People’s Liberation Army singers. In “Panthers and Gods Prowl a Palace of Sin,” an invitation to the Kala Ghoda Festival in Mumbai forges a connection with a jetlagged pair of Arctic throat singers and a doctor fascinated by Canada. In “Jesus on the Mainline,” an extended hospitalization beside the intubated victim of a drunk-driving accident reveals a difficult family drama. And this, of course, is only the beginning. Masterfully written, Touch Anywhere to Begin penetrates the impressionistic moments and intimacies of travel to reveal character and place like none other.

Genres: Nonfiction

256 pages, Paperback

Published September 20, 2022

About the author

Mark Anthony Jarman is the author of Knife Party at the Hotel Europa, My White Planet, 19 Knives, New Orleans Is Sinking, Dancing Nightly in the Tavern, and the travel book Ireland’s Eye. His novel, Salvage King Ya!, is on Amazon.ca’s list of 50 Essential Canadian Books and is the number one book on Amazon’s list of best hockey fiction.

He has won a Gold National Magazine Award in nonfiction, has twice won the Maclean-Hunter Endowment Award, won the Jack Hodgins Fiction Prize, and has been included in The Journey Prize Anthology and Best Canadian Stories and short-listed for the O. Henry Prize and Best American Essays.

He has published in Walrus, Canadian Geographic, Hobart, The Barcelona Review, Vrij Nederland, and reviews for The Globe & Mail. He is a graduate of The Iowa Writers’ Workshop, a Yaddo fellow, has taught at the University of Victoria, the Banff Centre for the Arts, and now teaches at the University of New Brunswick, where he is fiction editor of The Fiddlehead literary journal.

A.S. BYATT on Mark Jarman:

At last. It is very irritating to discover a wonderful book published too long ago to be an official "book of the year". I was talking to a German friend, a few years ago, and we were trying to think of the greatest short story ever. We agreed enthusiastically that it was Henry James's "The Beast in the Jungle". Martin then said reflectively, "Unless it is 'Burn Man on a Texas Porch'." I had never heard of that, nor of its author, Mark Anthony Jarman, a Canadian. (Canadians specialise in great short stories - Munro, Atwood.) Jarman's collection is called 19 Knives, and it is brilliant. The writing is extraordinary, the stories are gripping, it is something new. And now I can say so.

—The Guardian, November 24, 2007

Reviews

[Wanda Baxter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book and am a new fan of Mark Anthony Jarman. My review for The Miramichi Reader is here:
https://miramichireader.ca/2022/10/to...

[Digitally Lit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Katherine-

Reading his essays during my vacation was particularly enlightening, and really hits home the difference between vacation and travel.
Each one of Jarman’s stories were unique and slightly off kilter in the best way. I found he blended well the landscape of each place along with whatever vibe or message he aimed to get across. I was most surprised about how poetic / experimental a lot of his writing was. At times it read like any other travel non-fiction and at others he took it to such a new levels. Sometimes this worked well, other times, for example his overuse of the word ‘meat’ in one of his essays was a little hard to read. But like any poet I appreciate the texture of the creative spins he added into his essays.

Each story had such unique details and interesting twists while also feeling very real and grounded. The intense patriotism in China and the god-like taxi driver, Professor Longhair, are only two examples of quirky and vivid glimpses into these spaces and people. Though, one of my favourite essays was “The Crooked Grocer” which had the most of Jarman’s voice and life.

I recommend this book to anyone who wants a series of stories that will take you across the globe and make you laugh and think and look at the nuances of how the spaces around you mold who you are and how you experience life.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5