{"id":79170,"date":"2026-09-10T07:41:32","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T11:41:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/?p=79170"},"modified":"2026-09-10T07:41:33","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T11:41:33","slug":"utc-english-professor-chases-the-allure-of-elsewhere-in-newest-book","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/2026\/09\/utc-english-professor-chases-the-allure-of-elsewhere-in-newest-book\/","title":{"rendered":"UTC English professor\u00a0chases \u201cThe Allure of Elsewhere\u201d in newest\u00a0book\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Karen

Dr. Karen Babine is a UC Foundation associate professor of English at UTC and a published nonfiction author. Photo courtesy of Dr. Karen Babine.<\/p><\/div>\n

In 2014, Dr. Karen Babine packed up her tiny camper, loaded her two cats in the car and left Minneapolis for Nova Scotia.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She <\/span>spent the next month camping<\/span> her way east, eventually making it to New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince EdwardIsland.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI had never been out that far east,\u201d said Babine, a UC Foundation associate professor of English at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. \u201cI was like, <\/span>\u2018Why not?\u201d\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

More than a decade later, that trip <\/span>inspired<\/span> \u201cThe Allure of Elsewhere: A Memoir of Going Solo,\u201d published by Milkweed Editions in 2025.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The trip began with a realization that Babine didn\u2019t need to wait for someone else to travel with her.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat am I waiting for?\u201d she remembered thinking. \u201cIf I want to do a thing, I should do a thing. I don\u2019t have to wait for anybody to do it with me or give me permission. I am a fully capable adult.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Illustrated<\/p>\n

She already had the camper, which she bought in 2008 after wanting one since she was 17. She also had Galway and Maeve, two cats that had been camping with her since they were kittens.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Babine had been researching her father\u2019s French-Acadian roots and knew they had ties to the region, but she had never explored that history in person. She decided the trip would give her the chance to visit archives and historic sites and see what she could <\/span>learn<\/span> by being there.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The trip also gave her a chance to think about what people inherit from their families and what can be lost when stories aren\u2019tpassed down.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was like, <\/span>\u2018All<\/span> right, I\u2019m going to go stand in these places,<\/span>\u2019\u201d<\/span> she said. \u201cI\u2019m going to go see what archives I can get my hands on and see what new things I can add to this conversation.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere are things that you cannot know if you\u2019re not standing there.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Babine wrote much of the <\/span>book\u2019s foundation<\/span> during<\/span> the trip, but it would be years before she returned to the material and began putting it together. Because the story involved family history, she wanted to be deliberate about what she included.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI have very strong opinions about writerly ethics,\u201d she said. \u201cI do think that the stories we tell matter. Their stories aren\u2019tneutral.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The finished book became more personal than much of her previous work, exploring what it means to live independently while remaining connected to family and the places and stories that came before.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Babine said she prefers to use her own experiences to unravel larger <\/span>questions rather than<\/span> make herself the focus.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a difference between using your life as subject matter and using your life as a lens,\u201d she said.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

**********<\/p>\n

Click here<\/strong><\/a> to learn more about and purchase Dr. Karen Sabine’s books.<\/p>\n

**********<\/p>\n

Her interest in place can also be found in her first book, \u201cWater and What We Know: Following the Roots of a Northern Life,\u201d published in 2015. Her second book, \u201cAll the Wild Hungers: A Season of Cooking and Cancer,\u201d published in 2019, grew out ofwriting she did while her mother underwent cancer treatment.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Babine began writing long before those books were published.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She remembers making up stories in kindergarten and first grade. In college, she discovered creative nonfiction and began to see the kind of writer she would become.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Until she took a course on Minnesota writers, she never really considered that the places around her could be book worthy.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was the first time that I really realized that I didn\u2019t have to write things set elsewhere,\u201d she said. \u201cI could write about the things that I saw around me and the people that I saw around me and the ideas that were around me.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Babine went on to earn a <\/span>Master of Fine Arts<\/span> in nonfiction from Eastern Washington University and a <\/span>doctoral degree<\/span> from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln before joining UTC in 2019.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Now in her own classroom, Babine tells students that being a writer and being a published writer are two different things. Getting work into print can take years, and rejection is part of the process.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe difference between writers who are published and writers who are not largely is a matter of persistence,\u201d she said.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In her literary editing and publishing course, students learn about the publishing process while producing UTC\u2019s undergraduate literary journal, \u201cSequoya Review.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe have also been going through book production stuff with my own work as the class is going on,\u201d she added. \u201cWe can talk about the real-world work and what this means.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Babine recently helped edit an upcoming nonfiction anthology and delivered a manuscript for a book about the craft of nonfiction.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She tells her students that whether that work ends up on a bookshelf or not, it doesn\u2019t change the work she did.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf I never publish another thing ever for the rest of my life, I would still be a writer,\u201d Babine said. \u201cI couldn\u2019t stop it if I tried.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy brain is words. My life is words.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Learn more<\/h4>\n

UTC Department of English<\/a><\/p>\n

Visit UTC<\/a><\/p>\n

How to apply<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In 2014, Dr. Karen Babine packed up her tiny camper, loaded her two cats in the car and left Minneapolis for Nova Scotia. More than a decade later, that trip inspired \u201cThe Allure of Elsewhere: A Memoir of Going Solo,\u201d published by Milkweed Editions in 2025.<\/p>\n

Continue Reading <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2000,"featured_media":79186,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_slider":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_featurette":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[64,70,61,98,7712],"tags":[127071,124688,127575,10220],"class_list":{"0":"post-79170","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-academics","8":"category-college-of-arts-sciences","9":"category-english","10":"category-faculty-and-staff","11":"category-news","12":"tag-goal-2-2-faculty-staff-success-strategic-plan-2030","13":"tag-karen-babine","14":"tag-the-allure-of-elsewhere-a-memoir-of-going-solo","15":"tag-the-sequoya-review","16":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\nUTC English professor\u00a0chases \u201cThe Allure of Elsewhere\u201d in newest\u00a0book\u00a0 | UTC News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In 2014, Dr. Karen Babine packed up her tiny camper, loaded her two cats in the car and left Minneapolis for Nova Scotia. More than a decade later, that trip inspired \u201cThe Allure of Elsewhere: A Memoir of Going Solo,\u201d published by Milkweed Editions in 2025.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/2026\/09\/utc-english-professor-chases-the-allure-of-elsewhere-in-newest-book\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"UTC English professor\u00a0chases \u201cThe Allure of Elsewhere\u201d in newest\u00a0book\u00a0 | UTC News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In 2014, Dr. Karen Babine packed up her tiny camper, loaded her two cats in the car and left Minneapolis for Nova Scotia. More than a decade later, that trip inspired \u201cThe Allure of Elsewhere: A Memoir of Going Solo,\u201d published by Milkweed Editions in 2025.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/2026\/09\/utc-english-professor-chases-the-allure-of-elsewhere-in-newest-book\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"UTC News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/UTChattanooga\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-09-10T11:41:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-09-10T11:41:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/app\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/09\/MG_8248-2.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"624\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"417\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Peyton Schultz\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@UTChattanooga\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@UTChattanooga\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Peyton Schultz\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/utc-english-professor-chases-the-allure-of-elsewhere-in-newest-book\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/utc-english-professor-chases-the-allure-of-elsewhere-in-newest-book\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Peyton Schultz\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ca60ab887fd5cad0ce4234a6c82b21af\"},\"headline\":\"UTC English professor\u00a0chases \u201cThe Allure of Elsewhere\u201d in newest\u00a0book\u00a0\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-10T11:41:32+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-10T11:41:33+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/utc-english-professor-chases-the-allure-of-elsewhere-in-newest-book\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":895,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/utc-english-professor-chases-the-allure-of-elsewhere-in-newest-book\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/app\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/9\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/MG_8248-2.jpeg?fit=624%2C417&ssl=1\",\"keywords\":[\"Goal 2.2 - Faculty\\\/Staff Success - Strategic Plan 2030\",\"Karen Babine\",\"The Allure of Elsewhere: A Memoir of Going Solo\",\"The Sequoya Review\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Academics\",\"College of Arts and Sciences\",\"English\",\"Faculty and Staff\",\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/utc-english-professor-chases-the-allure-of-elsewhere-in-newest-book\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/utc-english-professor-chases-the-allure-of-elsewhere-in-newest-book\\\/\",\"name\":\"UTC English professor\u00a0chases \u201cThe Allure of Elsewhere\u201d in newest\u00a0book\u00a0 | UTC News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/utc-english-professor-chases-the-allure-of-elsewhere-in-newest-book\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/utc-english-professor-chases-the-allure-of-elsewhere-in-newest-book\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/app\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/9\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/MG_8248-2.jpeg?fit=624%2C417&ssl=1\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-10T11:41:32+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-10T11:41:33+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ca60ab887fd5cad0ce4234a6c82b21af\"},\"description\":\"In 2014, Dr. Karen Babine packed up her tiny camper, loaded her two cats in the car and left Minneapolis for Nova Scotia. More than a decade later, that trip inspired \u201cThe Allure of Elsewhere: A Memoir of Going Solo,\u201d published by Milkweed Editions in 2025.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/utc-english-professor-chases-the-allure-of-elsewhere-in-newest-book\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/utc-english-professor-chases-the-allure-of-elsewhere-in-newest-book\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/utc-english-professor-chases-the-allure-of-elsewhere-in-newest-book\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/app\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/9\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/MG_8248-2.jpeg?fit=624%2C417&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/app\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/9\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/MG_8248-2.jpeg?fit=624%2C417&ssl=1\",\"width\":624,\"height\":417,\"caption\":\"Karen Babine sits on outdoor steps, smiling at the camera.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/utc-english-professor-chases-the-allure-of-elsewhere-in-newest-book\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"UTC English professor\u00a0chases \u201cThe Allure of Elsewhere\u201d in newest\u00a0book\u00a0\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/\",\"name\":\"UTC News\",\"description\":\"Official news releases of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ca60ab887fd5cad0ce4234a6c82b21af\",\"name\":\"Peyton Schultz\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9782a322d76538faee70994895b5b4dab6b3b572e6af9d53fa80a7b989977821?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9782a322d76538faee70994895b5b4dab6b3b572e6af9d53fa80a7b989977821?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9782a322d76538faee70994895b5b4dab6b3b572e6af9d53fa80a7b989977821?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Peyton Schultz\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.utc.edu\\\/news\\\/author\\\/zbz585\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"UTC English professor\u00a0chases \u201cThe Allure of Elsewhere\u201d in newest\u00a0book\u00a0 | UTC News","description":"In 2014, Dr. Karen Babine packed up her tiny camper, loaded her two cats in the car and left Minneapolis for Nova Scotia. More than a decade later, that trip inspired \u201cThe Allure of Elsewhere: A Memoir of Going Solo,\u201d published by Milkweed Editions in 2025.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/2026\/09\/utc-english-professor-chases-the-allure-of-elsewhere-in-newest-book\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"UTC English professor\u00a0chases \u201cThe Allure of Elsewhere\u201d in newest\u00a0book\u00a0 | UTC News","og_description":"In 2014, Dr. Karen Babine packed up her tiny camper, loaded her two cats in the car and left Minneapolis for Nova Scotia. More than a decade later, that trip inspired \u201cThe Allure of Elsewhere: A Memoir of Going Solo,\u201d published by Milkweed Editions in 2025.","og_url":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/2026\/09\/utc-english-professor-chases-the-allure-of-elsewhere-in-newest-book\/","og_site_name":"UTC News","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/UTChattanooga","article_published_time":"2026-09-10T11:41:32+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-09-10T11:41:33+00:00","og_image":[{"width":624,"height":417,"url":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/app\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/09\/MG_8248-2.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Peyton Schultz","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@UTChattanooga","twitter_site":"@UTChattanooga","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Peyton Schultz","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/2026\/09\/utc-english-professor-chases-the-allure-of-elsewhere-in-newest-book\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/2026\/09\/utc-english-professor-chases-the-allure-of-elsewhere-in-newest-book\/"},"author":{"name":"Peyton Schultz","@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/ca60ab887fd5cad0ce4234a6c82b21af"},"headline":"UTC English professor\u00a0chases \u201cThe Allure of Elsewhere\u201d in newest\u00a0book\u00a0","datePublished":"2026-09-10T11:41:32+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-10T11:41:33+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/2026\/09\/utc-english-professor-chases-the-allure-of-elsewhere-in-newest-book\/"},"wordCount":895,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/2026\/09\/utc-english-professor-chases-the-allure-of-elsewhere-in-newest-book\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.utc.edu\/app\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/09\/MG_8248-2.jpeg?fit=624%2C417&ssl=1","keywords":["Goal 2.2 - Faculty\/Staff Success - Strategic Plan 2030","Karen Babine","The Allure of Elsewhere: A Memoir of Going Solo","The Sequoya Review"],"articleSection":["Academics","College of Arts and Sciences","English","Faculty and Staff","News"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/2026\/09\/utc-english-professor-chases-the-allure-of-elsewhere-in-newest-book\/","url":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/2026\/09\/utc-english-professor-chases-the-allure-of-elsewhere-in-newest-book\/","name":"UTC English professor\u00a0chases \u201cThe Allure of Elsewhere\u201d in newest\u00a0book\u00a0 | UTC News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/2026\/09\/utc-english-professor-chases-the-allure-of-elsewhere-in-newest-book\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/2026\/09\/utc-english-professor-chases-the-allure-of-elsewhere-in-newest-book\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.utc.edu\/app\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/09\/MG_8248-2.jpeg?fit=624%2C417&ssl=1","datePublished":"2026-09-10T11:41:32+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-10T11:41:33+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/ca60ab887fd5cad0ce4234a6c82b21af"},"description":"In 2014, Dr. Karen Babine packed up her tiny camper, loaded her two cats in the car and left Minneapolis for Nova Scotia. More than a decade later, that trip inspired \u201cThe Allure of Elsewhere: A Memoir of Going Solo,\u201d published by Milkweed Editions in 2025.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/2026\/09\/utc-english-professor-chases-the-allure-of-elsewhere-in-newest-book\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/2026\/09\/utc-english-professor-chases-the-allure-of-elsewhere-in-newest-book\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/2026\/09\/utc-english-professor-chases-the-allure-of-elsewhere-in-newest-book\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.utc.edu\/app\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/09\/MG_8248-2.jpeg?fit=624%2C417&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.utc.edu\/app\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/09\/MG_8248-2.jpeg?fit=624%2C417&ssl=1","width":624,"height":417,"caption":"Karen Babine sits on outdoor steps, smiling at the camera."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/2026\/09\/utc-english-professor-chases-the-allure-of-elsewhere-in-newest-book\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"UTC English professor\u00a0chases \u201cThe Allure of Elsewhere\u201d in newest\u00a0book\u00a0"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/","name":"UTC News","description":"Official news releases of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/ca60ab887fd5cad0ce4234a6c82b21af","name":"Peyton Schultz","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9782a322d76538faee70994895b5b4dab6b3b572e6af9d53fa80a7b989977821?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9782a322d76538faee70994895b5b4dab6b3b572e6af9d53fa80a7b989977821?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9782a322d76538faee70994895b5b4dab6b3b572e6af9d53fa80a7b989977821?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Peyton Schultz"},"url":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/author\/zbz585\/"}]}},"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.utc.edu\/app\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/09\/MG_8248-2.jpeg?resize=600%2C400&ssl=1","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.utc.edu\/app\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/09\/MG_8248-2.jpeg?resize=600%2C417&ssl=1","author_info":{"display_name":"Peyton Schultz","author_link":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/author\/zbz585\/"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.utc.edu\/app\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/09\/MG_8248-2.jpeg?fit=624%2C417&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79170","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2000"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79170"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79170\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":79187,"href":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79170\/revisions\/79187"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79186"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79170"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79170"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79170"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}