Invisible Exile

The Travel Writing of Displacement

Kimberley Kinder

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Hardback

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English

University of Minnesota Press
11 March 2026

Literature: history & criticism; Human geography; Travel & holiday

Mapping the transformative personal journeys of the displaced

The travel writing genre has long been associated with a certain kind of privileged and autonomous journey, encouraged by society and geared toward individual growth. Presenting an important counterpoint to this tradition, Invisible Exile considers a diverse set of narratives that explore travel undertaken as a result of displacement. In this creative work of cultural geography, Kimberley Kinder sheds light on the transformative accounts of those who must navigate across and within spatial boundaries due to marginalization and violence.

Unfolding as an extended trip, with each chapter marking out the next phase of one imaginatively constructed itinerary, Invisible Exile analyzes forty works in which the authors grapple with themes of loss and alienation. Kinder emphasizes the aspect of travel writing that posits spatial movement as a means of reinventing oneself, showcasing the personal insight and renewal these travelers find on their paths into, through, and partially out of exile.

By foregrounding the experiences of forced and reluctant migrants and refugees, Invisible Exile poses a critical challenge to the existing genre of travel literature, expanding its scope. Examining a vast range of twenty-first-century writings, Kinder crafts a moving, episodic journey that carries readers through displacement, transformation, and redemption.

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By: Kimberley Kinder
Imprint: University of Minnesota Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 216mm, Width: 140mm, Spine: 16mm
Weight: 482g
ISBN: 9781517919467
ISBN 10: 1517919460
Pages: 312
Publication Date: 11 March 2026
Audience: College/higher education , Further / Higher Education
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Kimberley Kinder is associate professor of urban and regional planning at the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Michigan. She is author of several books, including The Radical Bookstore: Counterspace for Social Movements (Minnesota, 2021).

Reviews for Invisible Exile: The Travel Writing of Displacement

""Situated within critical geographical concerns, Invisible Exile maps counternarratives of trauma and pain flowing from the invisible exile of those faced with the imperative of travel and migration. Kimberley Kinder’s theory-based discussion spatializes travel narratives ranging from issues of exploration, alienation, displacement, potential assimilation, and resources of hope to the geographical implications of ‘belonging.’"" - Adam David Morton, coauthor of Global Capitalism, Global War, Global Crisis