Pico Iyer in conversation with William Dalrymple

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Pico Iyer in conversation with William Dalrymple

Jan 2009

Speakers: Pico Iyer, William Dalrymple

Pico Iyer talks to William Dalrymple about the connection beween globalisation and religion, and shares his experiences as a travel writer.

Iyer contrasts the time he spent at Eton with the visits he made to California in the 1960s', around the time of the 'Summer of Love' . His experience, in these two vastly different places, he believes is representative of growing-up in general - cultivating different selves (for friends, family) which you have to learn to reconcile with each other. These experiences have further convinced him that globalisation is a good thing, enabling people to sample different cultures all from all over the world.

Iyer also discusses becoming a journalist, and shares his experience of living in Britain, California, and Japan, before explaining how the renaissance of travel writing in the 1980s brought this particular form of journalism into the modern age. He reads from two of his books: The Global Soul (2000), which explores the homogenising process of globalisation, and then The Open Road (2008), an intimate portrait of the Dalai Lama.

This video was kindly provided by The DSC Jaipur Literature Festival