High Desert Wind and a Coastal Downfall: Essays, Stories, and Poems

By Samit Goswami

How do I turn my travels into poetry, stories, and essays? Writers did it for centuries. I got to do this too.

This book is all about that. You will find my stories, essays, and poetries here based on my trips in the Southwestern United States. The stretch is from the Catalina Islands, California in the west to Lake Point, Utah in the east. The North-South span is from Lakeview, Oregon to Nogales, Arizona. Therefore, the extreme Minnesota cold and extreme Arizona heat seasoned me. I am a Midwestern (Chicago) transplant, as you may already know. This book has some weather commentary too because the weather can be extreme here in summer just like in Minnesota or great lakes in the winter. It is funny that the same skin gets a lighter appearance in the snow and darker tone in the heat. It stays smooth in the wet areas, but also gets a lot of cracks in the dry region. Strong sunlight kills your eyesight; lack of sunlight does the same thing. This book also has some memories from my childhood in Agartala, Tripura State, India.

I may have added more than 6000 miles to my already accumulated 800000 miles of auto journey. This is how I got some contents in this book. I do not write about a place unless I visited it. But it is strenuous to do so with higher age approaching. Gas prices are extremely high. Car rental costs have skyrocketed. Roads are congested and not safe. Weather in the desert is okay in winter, but the coast can be very foggy. Obviously, desert roads are not safe in the summer due to high heat. Food is horrible on the road that will give you bad health. On top of that, I have work and many other important things to do. Travel is not my primary thing. Actually, for family people, it won't be a thing to do. Therefore, I may start writing my stories in a way that does not need travels or use locations that are fictitious. Many acclaimed writers did that too. So, I can do it as well. It is much safer that way.

I started writing because John Maxwell Coetzee, an IBMer and a Computer Programmer, was also into writing. I am an IBMer and a Computer Programmer too.

'Ancient Masterpieces of World Literature' that I took via the online learning initiative of Harvard University helped me write this book. My grade came as 99%, but my wordsmithing is not as good as the professors in the course. Harvard professors invited some other professors who may not be complete English speakers, but everyone spoke in English with mastery. Bengali is my mother tongue. Now, I am inspired to learn better English. It is hard as I also switch between my technology career and writing chores. English used in technology is not literary English.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0GDM451CV
• ISBN13: 9798241259202
• Release Date: December 2025
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 128 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 8.5" x 11.0"