What can German globe makers, British cartographers, the Marx brothers, and Roadrunner cartoons tell us about writers from Sappho to Italo Calvino? According to fiction writer Peter Turchi both cartographers and writers draw from the same well of creativity, curiosity, and adventuresome spirit. "To ask for a map," says Turchi, "is to say, 'Tell me a story.'"

In Maps of the Imagination: The Writer as Cartographer, Turchi takes readers on a delightful journey that explores cartography's and writing's many parallels. For example, Turchi explores the challenges of blank space and the blank page, the role of geometry in maps and of formal devices in writing, the goals of exploration and challenges of presentation, and the balance of intuition with intention. Each idea is richly illustrated with maps, drawings and other illustrations.