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An Interview with Charter Weeks, Author of TRAVELOGUE

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This is a collection of 50 + years of my photographs with text by my son, the poet and writer Sebastian Matthews.

For more information or to buy a copy of TRAVELOGUE, contact cw@charterweeks.com.


Who/what made you want to write? Was there a particular person, or particular writers/works/art forms that influenced you?

My son approached me during COVID to see if we might collaborate.

What other professions have you worked in? What’s something about you that your readers wouldn’t know?

I was a commercial photographer in NYC and also was a cameraman for the BBC in the 60s.

Tell us the story of your book’s title. Was it easy to find, or did it take forever?

The title came from a blurb of the book by the famous American photographer Larry Fink.

“A TRAVELOGUE of sensitivity and loneliness. Unlike a symphony, this book has no real build to a crescendo, nor does it drain to a morbid end. It could go on and on. In it, there is a softly purring love affair with dignity and the small elements of pride which make up all of our lives.”

—LARRY FINK

How did it feel when you first saw your book cover? Or when you first held your book in your hands?

It was a gift of legacy that nothing else could replicate.

If your book had a soundtrack, what are some songs that would be on it?

Gill Scott Heron – “The Revolution Will Not be Televised”

What is one thing you hope readers take away from reading your book? How do you envision your perfect reader?

The text is so instructive about the process and context of image-making and about the breadth of documentary photography.

What was the most rewarding/meaningful part of publishing your book?

To have a document that reflects my body of work over time and to have it placed in my archive at the Mason Library at Keene State College Keene, NH.


Are you a writer, too? Submit your manuscript to Atmosphere Press.

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Atmosphere Press is a selective hybrid publisher founded in 2015 on the principles of Honesty, Transparency, Professionalism, Kindness, and Making Your Book Awesome. Our books have won dozens of awards and sold tens of thousands of copies. If you’re interested in learning more, or seeking publication for your own work, please explore the links below.