Basalt
\nVolume 6 Number 1
\n2011
\nAnnual Review by Robyn Campbell<\/p>\n
Although Basalt is based in and linked to the state of Oregon\u2014taking its name from the igneous rock prevalent in the northwestern U.S.\u2014a number of the pieces in this latest issue seem interested in crossing or expanding borders. While the front and back covers feature photographs of Oregon\u2019s geography, the roughly thirty pages in between discuss the idea of place, both literally and figuratively.<\/p>\n
In Harry Martinson\u2019s \u201cGlobal Nomads,\u201d translated from the Swedish by Lars Nordstr\u00f6m, the narrator takes readers through post World War I Europe. But more than a straightforward description of each city\u2019s blemish and beauty, this piece is a musing on travel, on movement in general. While stating in the opening sentence that \u201cNo literature is more superficial than a good travelogue,\u201d the narrator later explains the importance of travel itself, saying he is \u201cconvinced of the global social task of our feet when it comes to the healing of our psyche.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n