In Lingering: A Poet’s Journey through Literary Landscapes, poet and photographer Leslie Harper Worthington embarks on a literary pilgrimage, visiting the homes, graves, and monuments of the world’s great writers. Each stop inspires an original poem, rooted in reflections on the writer’s life, work, and legacy, and paired with an evocative photograph taken at the site.

From a modest cottage to a grand museum, a secluded burial ground to a weathered monument, each location becomes a lens through which to explore the enduring influence of its subject. Spanning the United States and beyond, this collection is both a travelogue of literary heritage and a meditation on the power of place. Within these pages, readers will encounter not only the spirits of beloved poets and novelists, but also a testament to the ways stories outlive their authors.

“Leslie’s pilgrimages to the homes of noted authors, poets, statesmen, civil rights leaders, philosophers, remind us that historical figures were living, breathing people who actually inhabited the worlds which influenced them. Her poems are inspired by her standing where they stood, seeing what they saw, experiencing the emotions they evoked in the places they first felt them - as, through her writings, are we, separated from their spirits only by time.”

-Mike Turner, 2025 Alabama Poet of the Year