To the Sea

October 19, 2019

A new article has been published on the A66 through Cumbria at Places journal. As I write somewhere in the article, ‘to drive the A66 is to pass between worlds, from the apparently eternal mountains to the dynamic industrial coast — from the sublime to the subliminal’ …

Mystery Coach Trip and Book Launch

June 23, 2019

Is there a secret Bob Dylan connection that migth explain the presence of his image (from the album cover Nashville Skyline) that flaps in the wind above the entrance to The Vagabond pub in Whitehaven? Read on to find out …

Different routes, other places

February 18, 2018

Cultural landscapes, as Christian Norberg-Shulz, writes in his influential text, Genius-Loci: Towards a Phenomenology of Architecture, consist not only of settlements – from houses and farms to villages and towns – but also the ‘paths’ that connect the places we live. In combination these two things transform nature into a cultural landscape.

About

Possible Worlds is the website of John Scanlan, a cultural historian and analyst. More.

‘The road has long been one of the most evocative cultural motifs in popular music. In Easy Riders, Rolling Stones John Scanlan provides a fascinating account of the emerging relationship between music and movement, from its origins in the pre-war Mississippi Delta to its deafening denouement in the rock shows of the 1970s.’ — Matthew Gandy, Professor of Geography, University of Cambridge‘A wonderfully evocative musical odyssey.’ — The GuardianEditions: Reaktion (UK), 2015 University of Chicago Press (US), 2015 — ‘The road has long been one of the most evocative cultural motifs in popular music. In *Easy Riders, Rolling Stones* John Scanlan provides a fascinating account of the emerging relationship between music and movement, from its origins in the pre-war Mississippi Delta to its deafening denouement in the rock shows of the 1970s.’ — Matthew Gandy, *Professor of Geography, University of Cambridge*
‘A wonderfully evocative musical odyssey.’ — *The Guardian*
*Editions:*
Reaktion (UK), 2015
University of Chicago Press (US), 2015

Film