Ted Conover, born in Okinawa and raised mostly in Colorado, has spent a lot of time on the road. For Coyotes and Rolling Nowhere, he traveled across the country with migrant workers and the homeless. And for The Routes of Man, Conover logged a total of 15 months’ time abroad, shuttling between his New York City home and Peru, India, Nigeria, and elsewhere. “From the moment my parents let me take long-distance bike rides, travel for me was a way of being independent, of having self-determination and also as a way of educating myself,” he said. Read more about him below.
Q. What is the best gift you have ever received?
A. My driver’s license.
Q. What was the last thing that inspired you?
A. Chris Jordan’s photographs of albatross carcasses. There’s an area off the coast where garbage collects, and the birds eat pretty things like rubber bands and plastic rings. When they disintegrate, what’s left is plastic. You wouldn’t think dead birds could look so interesting. But these birds tell a story in a very artful way.
Q. What comforts you?
A. Seatbelts, though that may be an illusory comfort. Milk. And noise turned off, whether it’s a radio or a car engine or the television at the end of the day.
Q. When do you feel most creative?
A. It used to be mid-afternoon, but now it’s about 10 in the morning. I cannot tell you why. It has something to do with aging.
Q. How would you describe yourself in five words or fewer?
A. Male, homo sapiens, 50-ish.
Q. What is your favorite thing about Los Angeles?
A. The dry air.
Q. What is the best advice you have ever received?
A. You should write this paper because it’s hard to do.
Q. How did you get into trouble as a child?
A. I didn’t. That’s why I’ve sought it out later.
Q. What is your greatest extravagance?
A. Needlessly expensive computer stuff.
Q. If you could take only one more journey, where would you go?
A. The Tambopata River, in the Amazon, to hear the noises at night.
Q. Where would we find you at 10 a.m. on a Saturday morning?
A. Probably watching one of my kids’ sporting events.
Q. What do you wish you had the nerve to do?
A. Nothing, for a day.
Q. Who is the one person living or dead you would most want to meet for dinner?
A. Jack London.
To read about Conover’s talk, click here.
*Photo by Aaron Salcido.