Psychogeography
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- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Merlin Coverley
- ISBN：0857302175
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Summary
In recent years the term "psychogeography" has been used to illustrate a bewildering array of ideas from ley lines and the occult， to urban walking and political radicalism。 But where does it come from and what exactly does it mean？ This book examines the origins of psychogeography in the Paris of the 1950s， exploring the theoretical background and its political application in the work of Guy Debord and the Situationists。 Psychogeography continues to find retrospective validation in much earlier traditions， from the visionary writing of William Blake and Thomas De Quincey to the rise of the flâneur and the avant-garde experimentation of the Surrealists。 These precursors to psychogeography are discussed here alongside their modern counterparts， for today these ideas hold greater currency than ever through the popularity of writers and filmmakers such as Iain Sinclair， Will Self and Patrick Keiller。 From the urban wanderer to the armchair traveller， psychogeography provides us with new ways of experiencing our environment， transforming the familiar streets of our everyday experience into something new and unexpected。 Merlin Coverley conducts the reader through this process， providing an explanation of the terms involved and an analysis of the key figures and their works。
Reviews
Enrique
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Decepcionante y aburrido porque trata la psicogeografía desde lo estrictamente teórico y， además， de una forma muy superficial。 Leerlo no me ha aportado nada que no supiera ya。Una mejor idea hubiese sido crear una baraja de cartas con prácticas psicogeográficas。
Daniella
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A good overview and introduction to key themes and developments in the field of Psychogeography， from the flaneur in nineteenth century Paris right the way through to the todays writer's such as Will Self and Stewart Holme。 This book is made all the more significant given the stillness of the cities of England during the past twelve months of lockdowns。 As our reasons for walking shift from that of the commuter and the essential journeyer along the block paved streets of England's cities， throug A good overview and introduction to key themes and developments in the field of Psychogeography， from the flaneur in nineteenth century Paris right the way through to the todays writer's such as Will Self and Stewart Holme。 This book is made all the more significant given the stillness of the cities of England during the past twelve months of lockdowns。 As our reasons for walking shift from that of the commuter and the essential journeyer along the block paved streets of England's cities， through to leisurely Sunday walker trampling along country paths and through farmers fields。 。。。more
Leah Chan
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Something that stood out to me was that the middle-class privilege of psychogeographers was skimmed over with little mention of those who have had to 'drift'。 Surely if walking is to be a subversive act that transforms the city and then these voices need to be heard？ That being said， it's a very good book for those new to psychogeography as it provides an devent overview！ Something that stood out to me was that the middle-class privilege of psychogeographers was skimmed over with little mention of those who have had to 'drift'。 Surely if walking is to be a subversive act that transforms the city and then these voices need to be heard？ That being said， it's a very good book for those new to psychogeography as it provides an devent overview！ 。。。more
Riar
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For a monograph on psychogeography， it is neither inspiring nor interesting。 Painfully repetitive。 And politically disengaged。
☘Misericordia☘ ⚡ϟ⚡⛈⚡☁ ❇️❤❣
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Here's what I though: urban occult radicalism？ Count me in！ Especially if it includes the peripatetic practices。。。。 But no， while I really liked the 'flaneur' parts， the rest felt particularly unfocused and even rambling。 Defoe， Quincey， de Certeau， Debord， Stevenson and lots of other visionaries seem to have been interested in how the urban experience goes on and how it becomes different between places and everything。 I appreciate all their time and effort and whatever。 I do not appreciate the Here's what I though: urban occult radicalism？ Count me in！ Especially if it includes the peripatetic practices。。。。 But no， while I really liked the 'flaneur' parts， the rest felt particularly unfocused and even rambling。 Defoe， Quincey， de Certeau， Debord， Stevenson and lots of other visionaries seem to have been interested in how the urban experience goes on and how it becomes different between places and everything。 I appreciate all their time and effort and whatever。 I do not appreciate the lack of non-trivial findings resulting from all the ado: seriously， are we supposed to be surprised that walking in different cities is different？ Much ado about nothing？ I must have been spoiled by other， more relevant and even groundbreaking book like this: The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier， Healthier， and More Creative。 I've been thinking about it all along while reading this one somehow。 Maybe it's because in Merlin's work there's not much practical or inspirational or anything like what we've come to expect from psychology works today？ Anyway， it's probably just me。 。。。more
Nora 🌹
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Still don’t like ‘Robinson Crusoe’！ Anyways， psychogeography itself is an interesting concept， and this provides a manageable historical overview。 Would love to read about any intersectional work done around these ideas。。。
Hector Jones
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First half drones on then it gets alright but still merlin coverly is a major neek so i prob won’t be reading his hauntology book 🖕🏻
Walter Schutjens
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Psychogeography often seems resistant to a refined definition， its essence harbours in a mélange of identities， movements of politics， and setting。 But above all， to most， it seems inescapably French。 The terms historical aftereffect draws largely from the French psychogeographical Situationist movement， writings of figures like Guy Debord and Michèle Bernstein are drawn close to the revolutionary periods of 1968， demanding postmodern philosophical works， and the bohemian figure of the flâneur。 Psychogeography often seems resistant to a refined definition， its essence harbours in a mélange of identities， movements of politics， and setting。 But above all， to most， it seems inescapably French。 The terms historical aftereffect draws largely from the French psychogeographical Situationist movement， writings of figures like Guy Debord and Michèle Bernstein are drawn close to the revolutionary periods of 1968， demanding postmodern philosophical works， and the bohemian figure of the flâneur。 Yet of all places it is London， lying just across the cold channel， where we can find not only the literary and cultural roots of the psychogeographical tradition， but also its most prominent contemporary figures that seek to radically apprehend and reform our new surroundings。tTo understand the nature of the development of the tradition， it is useful to analyse it through one of its most prominent applications， the act of walking。 The simple act is given a new role as an inherently subversive action that seeks to overcome a process of ‘banalisation’ of the immediate surroundings and everyday experience， to locate the true nature of the city behind the flux of everyday life。 This entails a new awareness of urban surroundings that stands contrary to the spirit of the modern city， what Debord would term the ‘spectacle’; to ‘dérive’ or ‘aimlessly drift’ challenges approved representation by cutting past established routes and into marginal or forgotten sprawls， giving the act a political charge。 The juxtapositions and subsequent insights allow for an imaginative reworking of the cityscape， to transcend the figure of the ‘one-dimensional man’ as termed by Marcuse。 It is then no surprise that the （modern） figure of the flâneur came to prominence in 1950’s Paris when the elegant promenades were demolished in favour of a stricter topography， the figure characterizes a nostalgia bound in the historicity of change and the birth of the modern city。 The exponentially increasing processes of urban redevelopment and gentrification in London， paired with the rise of neoliberal politics which increases individual alienation from work but especially from the public sphere， the applications of psychogeography never seemed more relevant than today。 tIf it is this tradition that is in dire need of revival， then it is on the paved streets of London， the very place you are reading this article， that it should find its continuation。 The tradition first developed in the visionary writings of William Blake and Thomas de Quincey。 In their writings the protagonist’s psychology and setting was bound in a gothic 18th century London， where anti-rationality of the imagination and systemic authority were laid bare。 Blake was a wanderer and poet， whose poetry is described as highly realistic in portraying scenes of 18th century street life， always bound in a fatalistic sense to the unchanging spirit of the city。 tI wander thro’ each charter’d street，tNear where the charter’d Thames does flow。tAnd mark in every face I meettMarks of weakness， marks of woe。 （William Blake ‘London’ Complete Writings p。216） The figure who creates a new conception of his surroundings in the psychology of its inhabitants but is tempered by the realization of a city as ageless， these are early features of the tradition。 Thomas de Quincey’s long drug-fuelled walks through London described in his ‘Confessions of an English Opium Eater’ subverts that realism and instead portrays the city as a mirror to individual experience， in this case of psychosis and lapses of memory which paint the darker and more chaotic aspects of the city。 This gothic image of haunted individual charged by internal woes which are then ascribed to the city around him， can of course be seen strongly in Robert L。 Stevenson’s work ‘Dr。 Jekyll and Mr。 Hyde’ which takes the occult images very literally in its plot。 It was these influences that eventually inspired Edgar A。 Poe to write the short work ‘A Man in the Crowd’ set in London at the turn of the 20th century， a text which both Baudelaire and Walter Benjamin ascribe as the major inspiration for the concept of the flâneur。 Its concept should be familiar by now， an estranged and somewhat isolated figure who functions as both a part of the crowd and as separate from it。 To get from this point to how we know psychogeography today in the tradition of the Situationist Internationale one only needs to add aspects of political radicalism， surrealism and a heavy dose of complex terminology。 All of which I would invite you to explore in your own time。 tLondon did not lose its touch with the tradition at the turn of the last century， indeed there has been a revival in its practice since the early 2000’s by figures such as Will Self， Iain Sinclair and Peter Ackroyd picking up the banner。 Will Self with the popular column in the Independent titled ‘Psychogeography’， Iain Sinclair amongst other things with his novel ‘London Orbital’ describing his trek around the M25 London ring road confronting Thatcherite legacies， and Peter Ackroyd in his historical portrayals of gothic London in works such as ‘London: the Biography’。 I feel it is also owned to the London tradition in bringing a contemporary shift in focus of psychogeographer’s in literature， brought by new-wave British writers such as J。G Ballard on the concept of ‘urban concentration’。 As more people move into the outskirts of cities， images of abandoned waysides， junkyards， and industrial zones have permeated the popular conscience and are seen as areas of conflict as opposed to the city centre。 This has influenced countless postmodernist writers such as D。 DeLillo， DF。 Wallace and Z。 Smith in trying to capture a new psychology in a Western form of capitalism which is built on invisible sources of wealth， whose footprint is counted in endless retail parks and suburban sprawl。 To understand our place in the world we must understand the place we are in， and the fate of the flâneur， wanderer， stroller， student， is bound to the fate of the city and its redevelopments which may grow increasingly hostile to his intentions。 In many ways the ideas and subsequent influence of those who have realised this are firmly entrenched in London and its literary and cultural tradition。 And I suppose I could only recommend going for a walk to think this all through。 。。。more
Christopher
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I had to brush up on this subject because the term is so useful to my interests but I have never directly engaged with it before。 It helps to gather a greater perspective on what others have written or how they have reacted to it。 Still， this is a discipline desperately in need of moving outside of the city and a specific handful of cities at that。 There is a lot that could be made from psychogeography， but most of it hasn't happened yet。 I had to brush up on this subject because the term is so useful to my interests but I have never directly engaged with it before。 It helps to gather a greater perspective on what others have written or how they have reacted to it。 Still， this is a discipline desperately in need of moving outside of the city and a specific handful of cities at that。 There is a lot that could be made from psychogeography， but most of it hasn't happened yet。 。。。more
Rich Oxley
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A concise and deeply engaging journey through the history of psychogeography， from the solipsistic wanderings of Blake and De Quincey， to the comically pretentious Situationists （why am I reminded of the 'People's Front of Judea'？）。 Coverley's coverage of modern contributors to the canon is let down a little by his unusually patronising treatment of Will Self's personal voyages of discovery。 Repeatedly described as a 'latecomer'， he gets brownie points for his physical exertions， but is clearly A concise and deeply engaging journey through the history of psychogeography， from the solipsistic wanderings of Blake and De Quincey， to the comically pretentious Situationists （why am I reminded of the 'People's Front of Judea'？）。 Coverley's coverage of modern contributors to the canon is let down a little by his unusually patronising treatment of Will Self's personal voyages of discovery。 Repeatedly described as a 'latecomer'， he gets brownie points for his physical exertions， but is clearly not regarded as in the same intellectual league as Sinclair or Ackroyd。 While he may not have invented any terms like 'chronological resonance' or 'détournement'， I'd argue there's a delightful honesty and groundedness in his language that acts as a great foil to the many lofty flights of esoteric fancy present in much psychogeographical literature。 。。。more
Ioan Marc Jones
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An interesting overview of the issues， which gives a brief history and runs through the fundamentals。
Paul Cooke
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Finally a book to explain my love of concrete and wondering about。
Ash
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Great short overview of a subject that has winding side roads， interesting cul-de-sacs， and many layers of footprints left on it's territory。 Great short overview of a subject that has winding side roads， interesting cul-de-sacs， and many layers of footprints left on it's territory。 。。。more
Laçin T。
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As plain and limited as it seemed from time to time， the author's style saves it; it had a couple of clever twists when the author presented his take on what to make of walking as 'subversive' potential。 The book certainly belongs to literary geographies。 The author clearly seems at home in London and comfortable with coming back to London for most of the book。 The focus is not blurred， and actually， that's a good thing。 It is ornated with interesting details from the Situationist International As plain and limited as it seemed from time to time， the author's style saves it; it had a couple of clever twists when the author presented his take on what to make of walking as 'subversive' potential。 The book certainly belongs to literary geographies。 The author clearly seems at home in London and comfortable with coming back to London for most of the book。 The focus is not blurred， and actually， that's a good thing。 It is ornated with interesting details from the Situationist International moment， such as the so-called 'illiterate' guy who became one of the forerunners of writing about psychogeography in the 1950s。 The author doesn't go into a swirl of analysis of what that means in the racially scarred France of the 1950s; it's your turn as the reader to say what that implied， disclosed and poured into the urban landscape。 I am happy to find Ballard in this book; I am regularly disappointed in not finding what it means to run into men doing the subversive heroism in the streets。 Oh， such subversiveness！ There is slightly a small part in the book that mentions what women's business on the street meant - and it meant only one thing， which speaks volumes in itself， but the author wants to go back to London， so he has to mind his time and the book's limited space。 Another clever talk is about automobility and how it fits the banality of the modern-day city。 It immediately makes me imagine planes， our carbon footprints and psychogeography， though。 Isn't it funny？ The book had enough silence and empty space to leave such windows of thought open。 One more clever addition was finding Defoe on the streets as the author starts a retrospective psychogeography。 I like it！ It's kind of historical geography。 Let's see how his other book corresponds to all this。 。。。more
Thomas
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Succinctly repetitive。
Samuel
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This is the one to start with， if you're a beginner。 Gives an excellent overview without being exhaustive。 It's not the only book you can depend on， but it's certainly a good place to begin。 This is the one to start with， if you're a beginner。 Gives an excellent overview without being exhaustive。 It's not the only book you can depend on， but it's certainly a good place to begin。 。。。more
Derek James Baldwin
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A lively and engaging review of a subject that， forgive the pun， simply can't be pinned down。 Instead of getting bogged down too much in the merits or otherwise of the ideas being explored， this is a short guided tour of some of the foremost psychogeographical writers of the last couple of hundred years。 It has whetted my appetite for more of Stewart Home and Nick Papadimitriou， but perhaps not Will Self or Iain Sinclair， and reminded me of the joys of Alfred Watkins， the situationists and Chris A lively and engaging review of a subject that， forgive the pun， simply can't be pinned down。 Instead of getting bogged down too much in the merits or otherwise of the ideas being explored， this is a short guided tour of some of the foremost psychogeographical writers of the last couple of hundred years。 It has whetted my appetite for more of Stewart Home and Nick Papadimitriou， but perhaps not Will Self or Iain Sinclair， and reminded me of the joys of Alfred Watkins， the situationists and Chris Petit。It occurred to me that maybe someone needs to explore the psychogeographical aspects of tudong， the nomadic travels of Buddhist monks （eg Sucittos Where Are You Going）。 Some interesting parallels I think: to me psychogeographical exploration is not so much about where you go or what you discover on the way， but about the "you" that accompanies you every step of the way， that cant ever be escaped， but that can be reexamined and reappreciated as tudong unfolds。 。。。more
Chris Harris
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Dire。 A stroll through some mildly entertaining stories from the history of Dada， the Situationists， and more recent exponents of psychogeography is crippled by needless repetition， a morass of typos （which appear even in the first paragraph）， and by the author's relaxed attitude to both punctuation and the conventions of grammar。 Maybe it's a stylistic choice， but continually tripping up the reader with really poor writing gets annoying fast。 I lost count of the number of paragraphs I had to re Dire。 A stroll through some mildly entertaining stories from the history of Dada， the Situationists， and more recent exponents of psychogeography is crippled by needless repetition， a morass of typos （which appear even in the first paragraph）， and by the author's relaxed attitude to both punctuation and the conventions of grammar。 Maybe it's a stylistic choice， but continually tripping up the reader with really poor writing gets annoying fast。 I lost count of the number of paragraphs I had to re-read because I couldn't parse them at the first attempt。 The author's habit of continuing a thought with "while" by starting a new sentence with it is particularly irritating， as is the clumsy， pseudo-academic tone。 If you want to show people what happens when you don't bother with an editor， this book would be a great example。 。。。more
Flavio
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Una "mappa" esaustiva dei significati attribuiti alla psicogeografia nel corso dei decenni。 Da William Blake a Nick Papadimitriou， passando per i fallimentari esperimenti surrealisti e i tronfi proclami politici dell'internazionale situazionista （non meno fallimentari delle scarpinate surrealiste）， il libro delinea i contorni di una disciplina dalle potenzialità infinite， ma da cui pochi sono riusciti a cavarne qualcosa di compiuto， senza mancare di fornire link per ulteriori approfondimenti。 Le Una "mappa" esaustiva dei significati attribuiti alla psicogeografia nel corso dei decenni。 Da William Blake a Nick Papadimitriou， passando per i fallimentari esperimenti surrealisti e i tronfi proclami politici dell'internazionale situazionista （non meno fallimentari delle scarpinate surrealiste）， il libro delinea i contorni di una disciplina dalle potenzialità infinite， ma da cui pochi sono riusciti a cavarne qualcosa di compiuto， senza mancare di fornire link per ulteriori approfondimenti。 Le mappe mentali， gli articoli di giornale， i romanzi e i docu-film， le opere più importanti vengono analizzate e descritte per rispondere alla domanda che prima o poi tutti arrivano a porsi dopo l'entusiasmo iniziale: "ok， ma alla fin fine， che ca##o è 'sta psicogeografia？"。 。。。more
Nick Carnac
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，，，，，he coined the term ， before Willy Self，，，，，，，
Piers Haslam
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A fantastic introduction and an extremely useful guide for further reading。
Petri Heinua
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A good introduction to a fuzzy topic ranging from psychology to the occult， literature， film and political aspects of the movement。
Neira
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A really useful and interesting reference book。 It has some less-than-thrilling parts where Coverley speaks in general terms （eg。 explaining the Situationist International's Marxist branch he fails to illustrate how Debord et al。 made psychogeography political） but it is overall insightful。 Definitely worth reading。 A really useful and interesting reference book。 It has some less-than-thrilling parts where Coverley speaks in general terms （eg。 explaining the Situationist International's Marxist branch he fails to illustrate how Debord et al。 made psychogeography political） but it is overall insightful。 Definitely worth reading。 。。。more
Stoic_quin
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It loses itself a bit towards the end。 Would have been better focussed if it restricted itself to literary forms and largely overlooked French pomposity
Karen
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A fascinating history of the subject of psychogeography， the origins of which date back to Paris in the 1950s: “The study of the specific effects of the geographical environment， consciously organised or not， on the emotions and behavious of individuals”。 It is explored mainly through the perspective of writers， including Daniel Defoe， William Blake， R。L。 Stevenson， Edgar Alan Poe and Guy Debord。 The prominent process is that of walking and wandering through cities， exploring beneath the surface A fascinating history of the subject of psychogeography， the origins of which date back to Paris in the 1950s: “The study of the specific effects of the geographical environment， consciously organised or not， on the emotions and behavious of individuals”。 It is explored mainly through the perspective of writers， including Daniel Defoe， William Blake， R。L。 Stevenson， Edgar Alan Poe and Guy Debord。 The prominent process is that of walking and wandering through cities， exploring beneath the surface of the everyday。 It’s rather repetitive， repeating the same ideas and even sentences， in introductions and in main text。 。。。more
John Manley
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The mere existence of this book was an enlightenment to me。 Here was a name to something I thought I had been enjoying all my life， the rich interplay between psychology， cartography， geography and history。Here was a subject I would really enjoy， one that tied so many of my passions for walking together。Unfortunately that dream was soon shattered， for according to Coverley Psychogeography is for the artistic elite living in the urban expanses of the largest cities。 In fact he seems to narrow it The mere existence of this book was an enlightenment to me。 Here was a name to something I thought I had been enjoying all my life， the rich interplay between psychology， cartography， geography and history。Here was a subject I would really enjoy， one that tied so many of my passions for walking together。Unfortunately that dream was soon shattered， for according to Coverley Psychogeography is for the artistic elite living in the urban expanses of the largest cities。 In fact he seems to narrow it down to only those living in London or Paris。I feel the underlying problem with the book is the balance between the theory， and the practice。 An opportunity has been missed here to take the subject forward， to open it up to the future。Saying that， it has spurred me to play with the subject， both in practice at: https://navsmaps。wordpress。com ， and in through reading by taking up his book suggestions。 Has anyone else found ways of exploring the concepts？ 。。。more
Fiana
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Comprehensive overview of psychogeography mainly in its literary form。 Provides useful leads into key figures， ideas， movements and texts to reference。 Account of important definitions and etymologies of key terms such as the figure of the flâneur， dérive and détournement。 Accessible and easy read。 Recommend！
ΟυΛιΠο
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Ένα εισαγωγικό βιβλίο στον κόσμο της ψυχογεωγραφίας με υποτυπώδεις αναφορές και επιφανειακές προεκτάσεις。。 Κάλλιστα μπορεί να θεωρηθεί και ως μια επιπόλαιη πανεπιστημιακή μελέτη με σημειώσεις και επαναλήψεις λεχθέντων δίχως την κριτική ματιά του συγγραφέα πάνω στο αντικείμενο。。 Ενδέχεται και ο ιδιος ο Merlin να μη μπορεί να κατανοησει τον όρο της ψυχογεωγραφιας καθώς αρκείται στις αναφορές των άλλων παρά σε μια προσπάθεια συγκεκριμενοποίησης του όρου。。 Αυτό δημιουργεί στο αναγνωστικό κοινό μια α Ένα εισαγωγικό βιβλίο στον κόσμο της ψυχογεωγραφίας με υποτυπώδεις αναφορές και επιφανειακές προεκτάσεις。。 Κάλλιστα μπορεί να θεωρηθεί και ως μια επιπόλαιη πανεπιστημιακή μελέτη με σημειώσεις και επαναλήψεις λεχθέντων δίχως την κριτική ματιά του συγγραφέα πάνω στο αντικείμενο。。 Ενδέχεται και ο ιδιος ο Merlin να μη μπορεί να κατανοησει τον όρο της ψυχογεωγραφιας καθώς αρκείται στις αναφορές των άλλων παρά σε μια προσπάθεια συγκεκριμενοποίησης του όρου。。 Αυτό δημιουργεί στο αναγνωστικό κοινό μια αίσθηση πως ο συγγραφέας καταπιάνεται με ένα θέμα που ελάχιστα γνωρίζει και στα μεγάλα και σημαντικά ερωτήματα φαίνεται ελλειπής。。 Χαριστικά 3 αστέρια μόνο και μόνο για το θέμα που θεωρείται απο μόνο του ενδιαφέρον。。 Δυστυχώς η διαλεκτική γραφή και το γνωστικό αντικείμενο είναι κάτω του μετρίου。 Διαβάζεται εύκολα ως μια αρχικη γνωριμια με τον ορο της ψυχογεωγραφιας και τα διαφορα λογοτεχνικα ρευματα που αναφερθηκαν σε αυτον。。 Στα ατου η αναφορα δυο μεγαλων πολεων αυτο του Παρισιου και του Λονδινου και η διαφορετικη ερμηνεια που αποδοθηκε στον ορο ψυχογεωγραφια στις δυο πολεις。。 Στα μειον η αναφορα με λινκς σε underground κοινοτητες ψυχογεωγραφιας。。 πολλα λινκς απο τα οποια εχουν φτιαχτει απο αυτονομες ομαδες και απο ατομικες ενεργειες που στην ουσια δεν υπαρχουν καν και που με μια αναζητηση στο google ο καθενας μπορει να βρει。。 Αυτο δυστυχως καταδεικνύει και το υλικο που αντλησε ο συγγραφεας για να γραψει το εν λογω βιβλιο。。 。。。more
Patrick Murtha
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Excellent introduction to this subject， with plenty of ideas for follow-up on both the reading and activities fronts。 Exposure to psychogeography affects the way you look at the world around you。
Janice
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This is a fine overview of a confusing concept， but there are some issues。First， Coverley describes everything he is going to talk about in his introduction， so by the time you get to the detailed sections you feel like you've already read everything。 A general overview of the figures and concepts he presents would be more useful。Second， this:"If the flâneur celebrated by Baudelaire and Benjamin is merely a passive observer detached from his surroundings， then his female counterpart， the flâneus This is a fine overview of a confusing concept， but there are some issues。First， Coverley describes everything he is going to talk about in his introduction， so by the time you get to the detailed sections you feel like you've already read everything。 A general overview of the figures and concepts he presents would be more useful。Second， this:"If the flâneur celebrated by Baudelaire and Benjamin is merely a passive observer detached from his surroundings， then his female counterpart， the flâneuse， is ascribed a quite different role， that of the prostitute""Ascribed" is a troubling word here， but the worst part of this assertion is that it's only used to， again， bring the subject back to the men Coverley writes about。 We hear no more about the flâneuse。 In fact， she's only mentioned twice， in the introduction and when the information is repeated in the section on surrealism。So， the city is erotic because men pursue women there。 What about those women？ Who are they？ What is their experience of the city？ Prostitute or not， women existed in the city and they wandered the streets and observed daily life。 For example， Rebecca Solnit in her book Wanderlust describes George Sand's choice to eschew female clothing because male clothing was better suited to her walks of the city streets。George Sand aside， I know that the number of women writing on these issues in the 19th and early 20th century was probably small， but that brings me to a related but separate issue。 Coverley quotes Solnit to bolster his history， but completely neglects her when covering the modern psychogeographic landscape。 I guess she doesn't fit into his London/Paris dichotomy， but if I had the energy I could argue that her work is of more relevance to the vague thing that is psychogeography than JG Ballard's is， and I'm a huge fan of JG Ballard。 But right now I don't have the energy。I know this book is a short introduction， but an edit of that unnecessary intro would surely allow some room for women， or at least more than a reference to unnamed prostitutes and named fictional characters like Nadja， who "is an embodiment of the city as the eternal female。"gross。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Psychogeography
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Psychogeography&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Psychogeography&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0