Reading the Signs and Other Itinerant Essays

These essays travel near and
far to explore landscapes of personal and cultural significance and the
communities that inhabit them.

At a time when we
reexamine how policies of yesteryear shape equities in the present,
award-winning writer Stephen Benz challenges readers to delve beyond
whitewashed versions of history and reassess our treatment of native people and
the environment with fresh, critical eyes. From westward expansion and Manifest
Destiny to the Cold War and the Global War on Terror, Reading the Signs
prods myths and provides missing context around events touched by the American
impulse to grab land and harvest resources--both within and beyond our shores.
These essays challenge us to search for missing layers of truth and decide
which versions of history should prevail.

With a wandering
spirit and an inquisitive mind, Benz ventures around town, across country, and
overseas in search of forgotten, overlooked, or misunderstood stories. From
rock concerts and courthouses to farm towns, battlegrounds, historical sites,
and quirky museums, these "itinerant essays" revel in discovering "new wonders
every mile."

Along with Topographies (Etruscan Press) and two books of
travel essays--Guatemalan Journey (University of Texas Press) and Green
Dreams: Travels in Central America (Lonely Planet)--Stephen Benz has
published essays in Creative Nonfiction, River Teeth, TriQuarterly, New
England Review, and other journals. Three of his essays have been selected
for Best American Travel Writing (2003, 2015, 2019). His poems have
appeared in journals such as Nimrod, Shenandoah, and Confrontation
as well as in a full-length collection, Americana Motel, published by
Main Street Rag Press. Benz now teaches professional writing at the University
of New Mexico.