What do you think?
Rate this book
Spain in Mind: an anthology
This spellbinding literary travel guide gathers poetry, nonfiction, and fiction about Spain by forty English and American writers.
Here are letters and memoirs from Lord Byron, Edith Wharton, and Henry James; a poem about Picasso by E. E. Cummings; and a comic tale by Anthony Trollope in which two Englishmen mistake a Spanish duke for a bullfighter. W. H. Auden, George Orwell, and Langston Hughes record their experiences in the Spanish Civil War, Ernest Hemingway takes on bullfighting, Richard Wright is beguiled by gypsy flamenco dancers, and Calvin Trillin pursues an obsession with Spanish peppers. From Chris Stewart’s memoir of his rural retreat in Driving Over Lemons to Barbara Kingsolver’s idyllic portrait of the Canary Islands in “Where the Map Stopped,” the glimpses of another world in Spain in Mind will enchant you.
Hemingway in Pamplona / John Affleck --
Spain 1937 / W. H. Auden --
village calendar / Gerald Brenan --
Letter to his mother / George Gordon --
Candle hat / Billy Collins --
Picasso / E. E. Cummings --
Winter in Castile / John Dos Passos --
#76 / Lawrence Ferlinghetti --
from Ten days in Spain / Kate Field --
from Gatherings from Spain / Richard Ford --
Water-fairies and altars / Lucia Graves --
Sirocco at Deya / Robert Graves --
from The dangerous summer / Ernest Hemingway --
Letter from Spain; postcard from Spain / Langston Hughes --
from Barcelona the Great Enchantress / Robert Hughes --
Public fetes of Granada / Washington Irving --
from Collected travel writings / Henry James --
from Snowball oranges / Peter Kerr --
Where the map stopped / Barbara Kingsolver --
Catalonian shore / Rose Macaulay --
On the victory obtained by Blake over the Spaniards / Andrew Marvell --
from Don Fernando / W. Somerset Maugham --
Badajoz / James A. Michener --
from Travels with my donkey / Tim Moore --
Four cities / Jan Morris --
Spain / Favell Lee Mortimer --
from A stranger in Spain / H. V. Morton --
Holy Week in Seville / Eric Newby --
La montana / Kate O'Brien --
from Homage to Catalonia / George Orwell --
from The foreigner / David Plante --
Holiday / Mary Lee Settle --
Friends and foreigners / Chris Stewart --
Pepper chase / Calvin Trillin --
John Bull on the Guadalquivir / Anthony Trollope --
from A Spanish lover / Joanna Trollope --
Visiting my daughter, an exchange student in Spain / Suellen Wedmore --
from A backward glance / Edith Wharton --
Indignation of a high-minded Spaniard / William Wordsworth --
from Pagan Spain / Richard Wright
Here are letters and memoirs from Lord Byron, Edith Wharton, and Henry James; a poem about Picasso by E. E. Cummings; and a comic tale by Anthony Trollope in which two Englishmen mistake a Spanish duke for a bullfighter. W. H. Auden, George Orwell, and Langston Hughes record their experiences in the Spanish Civil War, Ernest Hemingway takes on bullfighting, Richard Wright is beguiled by gypsy flamenco dancers, and Calvin Trillin pursues an obsession with Spanish peppers. From Chris Stewart’s memoir of his rural retreat in Driving Over Lemons to Barbara Kingsolver’s idyllic portrait of the Canary Islands in “Where the Map Stopped,” the glimpses of another world in Spain in Mind will enchant you.
Hemingway in Pamplona / John Affleck --
Spain 1937 / W. H. Auden --
village calendar / Gerald Brenan --
Letter to his mother / George Gordon --
Candle hat / Billy Collins --
Picasso / E. E. Cummings --
Winter in Castile / John Dos Passos --
#76 / Lawrence Ferlinghetti --
from Ten days in Spain / Kate Field --
from Gatherings from Spain / Richard Ford --
Water-fairies and altars / Lucia Graves --
Sirocco at Deya / Robert Graves --
from The dangerous summer / Ernest Hemingway --
Letter from Spain; postcard from Spain / Langston Hughes --
from Barcelona the Great Enchantress / Robert Hughes --
Public fetes of Granada / Washington Irving --
from Collected travel writings / Henry James --
from Snowball oranges / Peter Kerr --
Where the map stopped / Barbara Kingsolver --
Catalonian shore / Rose Macaulay --
On the victory obtained by Blake over the Spaniards / Andrew Marvell --
from Don Fernando / W. Somerset Maugham --
Badajoz / James A. Michener --
from Travels with my donkey / Tim Moore --
Four cities / Jan Morris --
Spain / Favell Lee Mortimer --
from A stranger in Spain / H. V. Morton --
Holy Week in Seville / Eric Newby --
La montana / Kate O'Brien --
from Homage to Catalonia / George Orwell --
from The foreigner / David Plante --
Holiday / Mary Lee Settle --
Friends and foreigners / Chris Stewart --
Pepper chase / Calvin Trillin --
John Bull on the Guadalquivir / Anthony Trollope --
from A Spanish lover / Joanna Trollope --
Visiting my daughter, an exchange student in Spain / Suellen Wedmore --
from A backward glance / Edith Wharton --
Indignation of a high-minded Spaniard / William Wordsworth --
from Pagan Spain / Richard Wright
373 pages, Paperback
First published April 10, 2007
8 people are currently reading
129 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 25, 2022
I bought this book during the height of the COVID lockdown in Spain. As happened all over the world, many businesses were struggling to stay afloat amid the restrictions, and a distress call was issued by the bookstore Desperate Literature, who were on the verge of going out of business. Though a small place, this is probably the best English language bookstore in Madrid; and so I answered their call my ordering this book. (I am happy to report that the bookstore survived.)
This book is a compilation of travel writings about Spain by Anglo-Saxon (mainly British and American) authors. All of the usual suspects are here: George Orwell, Ernest Hemingway, Gerald Brenan, Richard Ford, and so on. But there were quite a few authors with whom I was unfamiliar, such as Calvin Trillin, Kate Field, and Mary Lee Settle. The vast majority of the selections are, in my opinion, quite good; and the ones that aren’t are so short that you hardly mind.
The danger of a compilation such as this is that it risks being less than the sum of its parts—a sloppy smorgasbord of discordant dishes. However, Alice Leccese Powers, the editor, has succeeded in accomplishing just the opposite: presenting a mutually complementary tasting menu. One neat trick was to choose selections about different cities and regions of Spain—Catalonia, Madrid, Toledo, Galicia, Sevilla—which helps to prevent the material from becoming overly repetitive.
Yet another principle Powers employed was to mix moods and styles. Travel writing, like all writings, can be many things: deadpan, poetic, humorous, tragic, informational, romantic. Some writers savor ancient architecture and forgotten civilizations, while others dwell on bad restaurant service and train delays. Some become absorbed in the facts and history of a place, and others take the opportunity travel provides to turn inward. Even so, I found that the many writers in this volume blended together, united by their common object, creating a satisfying whole.
Recommended for any Spain travelers, former or to-be, with a literary bent.
This book is a compilation of travel writings about Spain by Anglo-Saxon (mainly British and American) authors. All of the usual suspects are here: George Orwell, Ernest Hemingway, Gerald Brenan, Richard Ford, and so on. But there were quite a few authors with whom I was unfamiliar, such as Calvin Trillin, Kate Field, and Mary Lee Settle. The vast majority of the selections are, in my opinion, quite good; and the ones that aren’t are so short that you hardly mind.
The danger of a compilation such as this is that it risks being less than the sum of its parts—a sloppy smorgasbord of discordant dishes. However, Alice Leccese Powers, the editor, has succeeded in accomplishing just the opposite: presenting a mutually complementary tasting menu. One neat trick was to choose selections about different cities and regions of Spain—Catalonia, Madrid, Toledo, Galicia, Sevilla—which helps to prevent the material from becoming overly repetitive.
Yet another principle Powers employed was to mix moods and styles. Travel writing, like all writings, can be many things: deadpan, poetic, humorous, tragic, informational, romantic. Some writers savor ancient architecture and forgotten civilizations, while others dwell on bad restaurant service and train delays. Some become absorbed in the facts and history of a place, and others take the opportunity travel provides to turn inward. Even so, I found that the many writers in this volume blended together, united by their common object, creating a satisfying whole.
Recommended for any Spain travelers, former or to-be, with a literary bent.
August 7, 2021
How can this be a credible anthology of the best of writing on Spain without a single mention of Laurie Lee.
April 16, 2010
This is one of several inter-related reviews for the books listed below:
1. The New Spaniards by John Hooper, 2nd edition, 2006.
2. Ghosts of Spain : Travels through Spain and its Silent Past by Giles Tremlett, 2006.
3. The Ornament of the World : How Muslims, Jews, and Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain by Maria Rosa Menocal, 2002.
4. Spain in Mind (an Anthology) edited and with an introduction by Alice Leccese Powers, 2007.
5. Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell, 1938.
6. South from Granada by Gerald Brenan, 1957.
7. Driving Over Lemons by Chris Stewart, 1999.
Some background information motivating my interest in Spain is given in my review of The New Spaniards; I won't repeat it here.
The books by John Hooper and Giles Tremlett are essentially factual; each presents a picture of contemporary Spain, both are reasonably complete, Tremlett's is a little more impressionistic.
This book, edited by Alice Leccese Powers, is a terrific collection of pieces by "great writers entranced by Spain". Powers has assembled a wonderful collection, which includes pieces by all of the usual suspects (Hemingway, Auden, Orwell, Washington Irving, James Michener, Gerald Brenan, Langston Hughes), augmented by contributions from other illustrious literary pilgrims (Lord Byron, Henry James, John Dos Passos, Edith Wharton, Robert Graves, Anthony Trollope, W. Somerset Maugham), a smattering of poetry (Billy Collins, E.E. cummings, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Andrew Marvell, William Wordsworth), and a variety of travel pieces from such 20th century visitors as Rose Macaulay, Jan Morris, Eric Newby, Calvin Trillin, Joanna Trollope, Tim Moore, Barbara Kingsolver, and Mary Lee Settle.
The result is an absolute delight -- a book that's small enough to be an unobtrusive travel companion, that one can dip into with confidence, knowing that one's faith in the editor's judgment will not be misplaced. The inclusion of pieces spanning three centuries provides a deeper understanding of context and historical background; the choice of authors helps the reader gain an appreciation of Spain's position in the literary and artistic imagination over the years.
There isn't a dull piece in the book (Wordsworth's contribution is confined to one solitary sonnet, in case you were wondering; even I can tolerate a sonnet). It may be just a happy coincidence that the more recent contributions are by travel writers and authors who I've always enjoyed (Rose Macaulay, Eric Newby, Jan Morris, Calvin Trillin, Barbara Kingsolver, Mary Lee Settle).
For centuries, travelers from around the world came to Spain -- drawn by its art, food, culture, all of which reflect a fascinating and chequered history. Dramatic landscapes, a Mediterranean climate, the peculiar Spanish blend of warmth, pride and machismo, and the cultural and artistic resurgence in recent decades are further attractions. As a travel destination, Spain is tough to beat. If you can't manage to make a trip in person any time soon, you could do much worse than pick up a copy of this book. Alice Leccese Powers has put together a collection of pieces which capture the country's essential spirit, with charm and panache.
I'll close with one of my favorite selections from the book (though Billy Collins's Candle Hat is a close second):
Lawrence Ferlinghetti
from A FAR ROCKAWAY OF THE HEART
#76
In the gardens of the Alhambra
I stole a small orange and ate it
The pulp dry and bitter
and the juice
(acrid as an arab driven from his land)
made a desert out of my mouth
and shriveled up my tongue
in the Sultan's last revenge
And I fell on the ground
in a deep swoon
Deep as the duende
in a gypsy's keening.
1. The New Spaniards by John Hooper, 2nd edition, 2006.
2. Ghosts of Spain : Travels through Spain and its Silent Past by Giles Tremlett, 2006.
3. The Ornament of the World : How Muslims, Jews, and Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain by Maria Rosa Menocal, 2002.
4. Spain in Mind (an Anthology) edited and with an introduction by Alice Leccese Powers, 2007.
5. Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell, 1938.
6. South from Granada by Gerald Brenan, 1957.
7. Driving Over Lemons by Chris Stewart, 1999.
Some background information motivating my interest in Spain is given in my review of The New Spaniards; I won't repeat it here.
The books by John Hooper and Giles Tremlett are essentially factual; each presents a picture of contemporary Spain, both are reasonably complete, Tremlett's is a little more impressionistic.
This book, edited by Alice Leccese Powers, is a terrific collection of pieces by "great writers entranced by Spain". Powers has assembled a wonderful collection, which includes pieces by all of the usual suspects (Hemingway, Auden, Orwell, Washington Irving, James Michener, Gerald Brenan, Langston Hughes), augmented by contributions from other illustrious literary pilgrims (Lord Byron, Henry James, John Dos Passos, Edith Wharton, Robert Graves, Anthony Trollope, W. Somerset Maugham), a smattering of poetry (Billy Collins, E.E. cummings, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Andrew Marvell, William Wordsworth), and a variety of travel pieces from such 20th century visitors as Rose Macaulay, Jan Morris, Eric Newby, Calvin Trillin, Joanna Trollope, Tim Moore, Barbara Kingsolver, and Mary Lee Settle.
The result is an absolute delight -- a book that's small enough to be an unobtrusive travel companion, that one can dip into with confidence, knowing that one's faith in the editor's judgment will not be misplaced. The inclusion of pieces spanning three centuries provides a deeper understanding of context and historical background; the choice of authors helps the reader gain an appreciation of Spain's position in the literary and artistic imagination over the years.
There isn't a dull piece in the book (Wordsworth's contribution is confined to one solitary sonnet, in case you were wondering; even I can tolerate a sonnet). It may be just a happy coincidence that the more recent contributions are by travel writers and authors who I've always enjoyed (Rose Macaulay, Eric Newby, Jan Morris, Calvin Trillin, Barbara Kingsolver, Mary Lee Settle).
For centuries, travelers from around the world came to Spain -- drawn by its art, food, culture, all of which reflect a fascinating and chequered history. Dramatic landscapes, a Mediterranean climate, the peculiar Spanish blend of warmth, pride and machismo, and the cultural and artistic resurgence in recent decades are further attractions. As a travel destination, Spain is tough to beat. If you can't manage to make a trip in person any time soon, you could do much worse than pick up a copy of this book. Alice Leccese Powers has put together a collection of pieces which capture the country's essential spirit, with charm and panache.
I'll close with one of my favorite selections from the book (though Billy Collins's Candle Hat is a close second):
Lawrence Ferlinghetti
from A FAR ROCKAWAY OF THE HEART
#76
In the gardens of the Alhambra
I stole a small orange and ate it
The pulp dry and bitter
and the juice
(acrid as an arab driven from his land)
made a desert out of my mouth
and shriveled up my tongue
in the Sultan's last revenge
And I fell on the ground
in a deep swoon
Deep as the duende
in a gypsy's keening.
April 8, 2011
The two stars are for the collection as a whole, not the individual pieces. It's ordered alphabetically, which is dumb, because the pieces jump around in time, location, genre, and everything else. Some of them are kind of terrible, others are brilliant. The book just wasn't put together very well, and should have been ordered by time period or geographic location.
September 17, 2010
SPAIN IN MIND EDITED BY ALICE LECCESE POWERS: Take a trip to the wonderful and historical country of Spain, but not just the Spain of the present day, but of the past century, and the century before; as seen through the eyes of such renowned writers as Ernest Hemingway, George Orwell, Edith Wharton, Henry James, and many more. Presented in an almost pocket-sized wonderful paperback edition and edited by Alice Leccese Powers, who’s previous In Mind series have been very popular; Spain in Mind is the ideal book for those thinking to travel to Spain, those who are traveling, or those who wish to know more and just want something easy and interesting to read. The beauty of a collection of travel stories is that they can be read over short periods of time and enjoyed just as much as an entire travel book by one person. This is not just a travel book about Spain, but a historical, political, critical, and anthropological book about the country that more and more people visit every year.
Having just come back from a week’s vacation in Spain, on the Costa del Sol, this book was an ideal companion for the long plane ride over, and during the week I was able to sample and experience many of the tastes and sights Spain has to offer according to Spain in Mind. Calvin Trillin writes lengthy and descriptive about the famous Spanish peppers known as pimientos de Padrón which he only travels to Spain for, and eats in vast amounts. Trillin has even tried growing the peppers in his native New Jersey, but so far has failed, and has to return to Spain often to satisfy his addiction. On one family get together, I was able to experience these pimientos and while I don’t hold them in such high esteem as Trillin, it was wonderful to read about a famous dish and then be in Spain to try it for the first time.
I was born in Spain and spent the first eighteen years of my life there, before coming to California; I hadn’t been back in four and half years until this trip. Alice Leccese Powers starts the book with a comprehensive and enchanting introduction that brought back all the memories of Spain for me, and will serve as an excellent introductory course to those having never traveled to Spain or simply not knowing much about the culture. On the matter of the renowned Spanish siesta, Powers indicates that in this dynamic and modern world, it is still very much alive: “Although there are reports of the decline of the midday fiesta because of the pressures of modern life – commuting, two-family households, a bustling economy – it is still difficult to find an open pharmacy in Madrid in the middle of the afternoon.” I can attest to this with firsthand experience with regard not just to pharmacies, but to many different stores, even the parking! Between two and three in the afternoon, parking is free in my hometown of Fuengirola, presumably because the meter maids are taking their siesta.
Sadly, bullfighting is still very much alive in Spain, with the colorful posters covering every bare space of public wall with the lionized torero or bullfighter shown in regal splendor. Hemingway’s piece is of a long battle between two bullfighters in 1959 who challenged each other to kill the most bulls. While it isn’t my cup of tea, the writing is of course Hemingway: uniquely described with brevity and accuracy. Powers wonderfully balances this with a Henry James piece. The author has this to say on the subject of bullfighting: “Yet I thought the bull, in any case, a finer fellow than any of his tormentors, and I thought his tormentors finer fellows than the spectators.”
Read the rest of the review here.
For more book reviews, and author interviews, go to BookBanter.
Having just come back from a week’s vacation in Spain, on the Costa del Sol, this book was an ideal companion for the long plane ride over, and during the week I was able to sample and experience many of the tastes and sights Spain has to offer according to Spain in Mind. Calvin Trillin writes lengthy and descriptive about the famous Spanish peppers known as pimientos de Padrón which he only travels to Spain for, and eats in vast amounts. Trillin has even tried growing the peppers in his native New Jersey, but so far has failed, and has to return to Spain often to satisfy his addiction. On one family get together, I was able to experience these pimientos and while I don’t hold them in such high esteem as Trillin, it was wonderful to read about a famous dish and then be in Spain to try it for the first time.
I was born in Spain and spent the first eighteen years of my life there, before coming to California; I hadn’t been back in four and half years until this trip. Alice Leccese Powers starts the book with a comprehensive and enchanting introduction that brought back all the memories of Spain for me, and will serve as an excellent introductory course to those having never traveled to Spain or simply not knowing much about the culture. On the matter of the renowned Spanish siesta, Powers indicates that in this dynamic and modern world, it is still very much alive: “Although there are reports of the decline of the midday fiesta because of the pressures of modern life – commuting, two-family households, a bustling economy – it is still difficult to find an open pharmacy in Madrid in the middle of the afternoon.” I can attest to this with firsthand experience with regard not just to pharmacies, but to many different stores, even the parking! Between two and three in the afternoon, parking is free in my hometown of Fuengirola, presumably because the meter maids are taking their siesta.
Sadly, bullfighting is still very much alive in Spain, with the colorful posters covering every bare space of public wall with the lionized torero or bullfighter shown in regal splendor. Hemingway’s piece is of a long battle between two bullfighters in 1959 who challenged each other to kill the most bulls. While it isn’t my cup of tea, the writing is of course Hemingway: uniquely described with brevity and accuracy. Powers wonderfully balances this with a Henry James piece. The author has this to say on the subject of bullfighting: “Yet I thought the bull, in any case, a finer fellow than any of his tormentors, and I thought his tormentors finer fellows than the spectators.”
Read the rest of the review here.
For more book reviews, and author interviews, go to BookBanter.
Want to read
January 24, 2008Brought along on my Spain trip but didn't open a page.
January 22, 2016
Great fun to read as we planned and returned from our trip to Spain.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews