An Interview with Lori Henry

Here’s a line I absolutely love from my interview with Lori: “Dancing breaks down barriers, allows people to interact with their eyes, touch and impulses.” These words really seem to get at the heart of what Lori aims to do in her writing: connect, share, exchange, and break down barriers. And what better way to do this than through dance? Lori’s career–which began with her first dance class at the age of 2–has led her into an intriguing mix of travel writing and dance awareness, and her newest book, Dancing Through History: In Search of the Stories that Define Canada, showcases her passion for combining these interests. Check out her website here!

How did you “break in to travel writing”? What have been the keys to your success?

While living what I thought was the dream of being a film actress, I began taking freelance writing gigs because I could do the work in between auditions and filming. Every year I would save up for a solo trip somewhere and, after returning from the south of France one year, decided to pitch the Vancouver Sun a story about Avignon. It was accepted.

I didn’t look back after that, racking up as many clips as I could while saving money for my next trip. I was eventually able to join some travel writing organizations (first TMAC, now SATW). By allowing myself to get to know how the industry works over those first few years, when I was getting enough work to go full time, the transition was smooth. Good bye acting; hello travelling the world!

Where do you see your career as a travel writer being three years from now? How will your income mix change and what are you doing to adapt to the changing media landscape?

I don’t know that there will be a lot of “pure” travel writers in three years time. I’m focusing on some book projects, writing shorter e-books, and doing some guest speaking. This variety of work is bringing in cash in the short term, but also starting to build long term revenue that makes for a good balance.

Many writers will probably brush up on or learn photography, video, e-book creation and digital media skills. I am currently partnering with others who do all of these things so I can focus on what I know best: telling stories with the written word and on film. I think partnering to create packages of content will be a good way for writers to offer publications the BEST content without having to be an expert at everything.

Knowing what you do now, if you were starting from scratch today to become established as a travel writer, what steps would you take to ensure success?

I would value networking more. As with most industries, who you know and who knows you is an important key to getting steady work. Going to TMAC and SATW conventions always felt like a chore, but even with that lame attitude, I managed to connect with a lot of really great people who have helped me (and vice versa) over the years. If I had of made more of an effort to connect with those in the industry earlier, my network would be even stronger. We’re in the business of communicating, and most business is still done by word of mouth.

I’d love to hear more about your personal niche—you often cover travel through the traditional dances of a culture! Where did this idea initially come from and how has focusing on dance informed your understanding of the places you’ve visited and written about?

I took my first dance class when I was two years old, learning dances from the islands of Polynesia. I learned to explore different cultures through dance before I learned any other way. I find if I bring dance into my travel experience, I cut out a lot of the time it often takes to really get to know strangers (who most likely don’t speak the same language as me).

Dancing breaks down barriers, allows people to interact with their eyes, touch and impulses. When it comes time to chat, even if it’s through a translator, the conversations are always richer and more personal. The small talk gets forgotten. I also love that it usually allows me to interact with women, whose roles within different societies are very interesting to me, adding another layer to the stories I can tell.

Tell us a little bit about your recent book, Dancing Through History: In Search of the Stories that Define Canada, and its relationship to travel writing. Where do you see the crossovers?

My latest book uses the through line of traditional dances in Canada to explore the cultures that make up the country. Instead of covering Nunavut, for example, as just a northern territory in the Arctic where there are cold weather activities to do, I write about learning Inuit drum dancing and throat singing and what it means to the Inuit culture. All of the chapters revolve around an annual cultural festival, so readers can follow in my footsteps, so to speak. A list of travel resources at the back of the book gives readers the websites to help them plan their cultural trip to Canada.

The feedback from even Canadians so far has been that they never knew such neat festivals existed in the country, which is great!

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Lori Henry is a travel writer and author based in Vancouver, Canada. Although mostly covering outdoor adventures, solo travel, indigenous cultures and dance, she gravitates towards wherever she can find an interesting story (ideally one that hasn’t been told before). Her words can be read in publications like WestJet’s up! magazine, Reader’s Digest Canada, Gateways (Carnival Cruise Lines), FLARE, Western Living, Fodor’s, Spa, British Columbia Magazine, and USAToday.com. Her latest book is Dancing Through History: In Search of the Stories that Define Canada, but she has also authored the e-book Churchill: Navigating bugs, belugas and polar bears.

Interview conducted in April, 2012 by Kristin Mock.