Earlier this month, Teju Cole appeared as a guest on the the literary podcast, “Between the Covers,” with David Naimon from Tin House. “Between the Covers” is a long-form in-depth podcast where guests discuss their latest work and reflect on other inspiration in their careers.

In this podcast, Cole discusses the release of his latest photobook, Fernweh. Fernweh is a book of photographs set in Switzerland that depict Cole’s meditations on the relationship between humans, history, and landscapes. The book was released in February 2020, otherwise known as the dawn of the pandemic and life in lockdown. Reflecting on the coincidence, Cole says,

It was an interesting year to have Fernweh come out, because this is a book that’s very much about considering the world from a position of solitude, and even isolation. There’s something about that book that almost imagines a world without us. “Fernweh” is a German word that is hard to define, but part of what it means is a longing for distant places, a longing to be away from here. It’s almost like a metaphysical form of wanderlust. That was an interesting book to think about this year because it confirmed for me the importance of creating a moment of thought and thoughtfulness, and maybe even silence in the middle of the storm.

Click here to listen to the full podcast!

Click below for a virtual tour of Fernweh by Teju Cole from MACK publishing.