On Travel, Poetry, and Stepping Into the New
I recently happened upon A Book of Luminous Things while waiting on a takeout order at one of our favorite local spots. This lovely anthology, curated by Polish writer Czeslaw Miłosz, contains a sweeping collection of poems—ranging from eighth-century China to contemporary America.
It was most fortuitous that I had left my phone in the car, prompting me to pick up this unassuming book. Even happier still that I opened to the section on travel—just weeks after launching my own travel company. Oh what happy discoveries can happen when we set our devices aside and open ourselves up to something unexpected!
In the introduction to the travel chapter, Miłosz writes:
“In old Arabic poetry, love, song, blood, and travel appear as four basic desires of the human heart and the only effective means against our fear of death. Thus, travel is elevated to the dignity of the elementary needs of humankind… Travel undoubtedly removes us from familiar sights and everyday routine. It offers to us a pristine world seen for the first time and is a powerful means of inducing wonder. And since poetry is an expression of wondering at things, landscapes, people, their habits and mores, poetry and travel are allied.”
Well, Miłosz—you Nobel laureate, you—I (obviously) couldn’t have said it better myself.
Since stepping away from a twelve-year career at a Fortune 500 company to launch Katie Bratton Travel, I’ve been asked the question countless times:
“Why travel?”
There are a million ways to answer. Travel is what I love, what I crave. It moves me and fulfills me in a way nothing else does. I’m a lifelong planner and research nerd. I believe experiences and time together are some of the greatest gifts we can give our friends and families. I light up when I help others discover a new place that makes them feel more alive. But at the heart of it all—for me, travel is poetry.
So, it brings me immense joy to officially introduce Katie Bratton Travel—a boutique travel advisory that designs custom-tailored experiences to create cherished, lifelong memories.
As your trusted advisor, I help craft one-of-a-kind journeys, removing the stress of planning while unlocking access to experiences and perks that simply aren’t available when booking on your own. As an independent affiliate of Brownell, I’m backed by an exclusive global network of hotels, resorts, ground partners, and travel experts. And through Brownell’s affiliation with Virtuoso, the world’s leading network for luxury and experiential travel, my clients receive VIP treatment, insider access, and elevated service every step of the way.
If you (or someone you know) is ready to explore the world in a more thoughtful, personalized, and inspired way—I’d love to help! Let’s discover something luminous together.