Dec 21 2009
The Mappist
Barry Lopez
I recently returned, part-time, to my old job of digital mapping. It’s a leisurely job where I can work on maps all day while being able to listen attentively to short stories and still get the job done. I’ve always liked maps, and I’m usually happy when I have a short story or good music to listen to, so it works out. However to say that my mapping work “pales” in comparison to the mapping work in this story would be a gross understatement and it’s actually the antithesis of the type of mapping described in it.
The story I listened to today from my podcasts of Selected Shorts was Barry Lopez‘s “The Mappist,” and it’s one of the best stories I’ve heard yet. Elegant, beautifully written, and meaningful at the same time.
It makes me wish I had a project as noble as one of the character’s in the story and makes me question (once again) my own infatuation with technology.