Nightwalking, A Nocturnal History of London, by Matthew Beaumont.
The book arrived bedside and surely it “…shines a light on the shadowy perambulations of poets, novelists and thinkers…”(from the publishers, Verso Books).
In the 484-page tome the writer investigates the intrigues of night culture from the renaissance to mid-19th century or in authorial time — from Chaucer to Dickens.
With his own poetic voice, Mr. Beaumont examines the darkness of penury and ‘houselessness’, the roguish elite — ramblers, wanderers and vagrants — and introduces the reader to the “noctambulant and the noctivagant, or common nightwalker”.
He ends the book with a quote from Edgar Allan Poe that starts many of my talks, which I now share with you.
Then we sallied forth into the streets, arm in arm, continuing the topics of the day, or roaming far and wide until a late hour, seeking amid the wild lights and shadows of the populous city, that infinity of mental excitement which quiet observation can afford.
For more bibliographic resources link here.
Guy Debord’s Theory of the Dérive has been instrumental for my life as a citizen-walker. From the Bureau of Public Secrets, “… dérive, a technique of rapid passage through varied ambiences. Dérives involve playful-constructive behavior and awareness of psychogeographical effects, and are thus quite different from the classic notions of journey or stroll.
An assembly of posts highlighting a facet of 21st century night walking – and passage: