Bruce Chatwin was one of the most influential and celebrated travel writers of the 20th century. His books, such as In Patagonia, The Songlines, and Utz, captivated readers with their vivid descriptions, exotic locations, and fascinating stories. But what was the cause of his death, and how did he impact the world of literature and culture?
A Mysterious Illness
Chatwin died on January 18, 1989, at the age of 48, in a hospital in Nice, France. He had been suffering from a rare bone marrow disease, caused by a fungus, he had contracted while traveling in China, according to The Washington Post. However, this was not the whole truth. Chatwin had actually contracted AIDS, but he never admitted it to himself or to others, according to the Evening Standard. He was afraid of the stigma and the discrimination that the disease carried at the time, especially for a bisexual man who had a wife and many lovers of both sexes.
Chatwin’s denial of his illness and his sexuality was a source of pain and frustration for his friends and family, who tried to support him and persuade him to seek proper treatment. His wife, Elizabeth, who had married him in 1965, remained loyal and devoted to him until the end, even though she knew of his affairs. His close friend and fellow writer, Patrick Leigh Fermor, who had hosted him in Greece many times, wrote to him: “You have been a very naughty boy, but I love you very much.” His admirer and collaborator, Werner Herzog, who had made a film based on his book, The Viceroy of Ouidah, visited him in the hospital and gave him a rucksack, hoping that he would recover and resume his travels.
A Nomadic Spirit
Chatwin’s travels were not only a source of inspiration for his writing, but also a way of life. He was fascinated by the idea of nomadism, the movement of people across the land, and the cultures and histories that they created and encountered. He believed that humans had a natural urge to wander, and that settling down was a form of imprisonment. He wrote in his notebook: “I have a vision of the Songlines stretching across the continents and ages; that wherever men have trodden they have left a trail of song; and that these trails must reach back, in time and space, to an isolated pocket in the African savannah, where the First Man opening his mouth in defiance of the terrors that surrounded him, shouted the opening stanza of the World Song.”
Chatwin’s quest for the Songlines, the ancient paths that the Aboriginal Australians used to navigate and sing their land into being, was the basis of his most famous and controversial book, The Songlines. Published in 1987, the book was a mixture of travelogue, fiction, history, anthropology, and philosophy. It was hailed as a masterpiece by some critics, who praised its originality, style, and insight, but it was also criticized by others, who accused Chatwin of misrepresenting, romanticizing, and appropriating the Aboriginal culture and knowledge.
Chatwin’s other books also explored the themes of nomadism, identity, and history, in various settings and genres. In Patagonia, his first book, published in 1977, was a collection of stories and anecdotes from his journey to the southern tip of South America, where he encountered eccentric characters, exotic landscapes, and traces of his Welsh ancestry. On the Black Hill, his second book, published in 1982, was a novel that spanned the lives of two twin brothers who lived on a farm in Wales for 80 years, witnessing the changes of the 20th century. Utz, his last book, published in 1988, was a novella that told the story of a collector of Meissen porcelain who lived in Prague under the communist regime, and who had a secret plan to escape with his precious collection.
A Lasting Influence
Chatwin’s death was a shock and a loss for the literary world, but his legacy lives on. His books have been translated into many languages, adapted into films and plays, and inspired countless writers and travelers. His style, which combined factual and fictional elements, poetic and journalistic language, and personal and universal perspectives, has been praised as innovative and influential. His themes, which touched on the human condition, the nature of culture, and the meaning of travel, have been seen as relevant and profound. His life, which was full of adventure, mystery, and controversy, has been the subject of biographies, documentaries, and letters.
Chatwin was a writer who defied categorization, who challenged conventions, and who sought to discover the world and himself through his travels and his stories. He was, as Herzog said, “the ultimate storyteller”.
