Full Description
Pushing the Wave 2024 brings together a year of essays, reflections and travel writing by L.A. Davenport, enriched with drawings and photo essays from Europe and beyond.
This latest volume explores themes of creativity, culture and connection: from finding "flow" in daily life and questioning the allure of awards season, to grappling with limerence, freedom, education and the risks of artificial intelligence. Davenport combines sharp cultural commentary with intimate moments of memory and observation, creating a vibrant mosaic of modern life.
Journeys through Paris, Umbria, Antibes, Athens, Cuba, Houston and the northern coast of Ireland deepen the collection, offering fresh perspectives on place, history and belonging.
At once thoughtful and lyrical, Pushing the Wave 2024 continues this rich series as a celebration of creativity, curiosity and the search for meaning in a restless world.
Perfect for fans of Pico Iyer, Olivia Laing, Alain de Botton and Rebecca Solnit—writers who blend travel, culture and personal reflection with a sharp eye for modern life.
Contents
Finding the flow
It's not the awards that matter
Love or limerence?
Enduring advice
This is how we get heard
We'll always have Paris
Frozen in time
College boy
A bridge between East and West
Stop messing with the clocks
The dignity of silent protest
The dark underbelly of AI
AI is coming for you
Flaming June
The occasional joys of writing
Barley and spinach mujaddara
Digital quitting
Making it as a writer
Kafka and the universal I
Cancelling out the echo
Is Glastonbury Festival losing its magic?
The power of the doorstep
Off to a flying start
A rose by any other name
Sous le ciel de Paris
A living theme park
The unplanned road
The way it always ends
One hundred days in power, now and then
Ferry love from Nice to Corsica
Simple Polish beetroot soup (barszcz)
Win some, lose some
Caraway grated carrot salad
What is education for?
Another slice of cultural heritage for the chop?
Perfect boiled rice
The festive season?
The north coast of Northern Ireland
Cuba
About the author
By L.A. Davenport
