In Western North Carolina, set among the Blue Ridge Mountains, sits Asheville, a creative center unlike any in the United States. The natural surroundings have shaped generations of local writers, several with strong candidacies for inclusion in the American cannon. Authors from around the globe also have settled in Asheville, drawn by the tranquility, fellowship and truth held within the space. With roots planted deeply in the country’s literary soil and with branches reaching out into the present day, Asheville, North Carolina offers an enriching destination for a Lit Trip.

To the extent America emerged from the written word, those words were written in Philadelphia, as both the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution came to life in the City of Brotherly Love. Nathaniel Popkin, Alexander Ames, Taylor Townes, Alison Lewis, Alexander Schneider, Christina Rosso-Schneider and Asali Solomon lead a Lit Trip through sites overflowing with history and those brimming with the energy of creation.

Lit Trip pays a visit to Baltimore, home to among most consequential figures in American literature, from Frederick Douglass and Edgar Allan Poe to F. Scott Fitzgerald and Gertrude Stein. Notable authors and leaders – Madison Smartt Bell, Shauntee Daniels, Marion Winik, Enrica Jang, Emma Snyder and D. Watkins – who have strengthened Baltimore’s literary legacy, help guide listeners on a tour through a city that continues to celebrate the written word.