Patrick Bixby’s Latest Release, License to Travel, Investigates the Subtle Influence of Passports

Order Now → License to Travel: A Cultural History of the Passport, $25, Bookshop.org

Passports can open doors to thrilling new adventures or trap travelers in tedious bureaucratic processes.

In his forthcoming book, License to Travel: A Cultural History of the Passport (available October 25), Patrick Bixby delves into the surprisingly intricate and historical background of the passport, as well as its importance today. He guides readers from the passport's origins in ancient Egypt and Han-dynasty China to significant events like the dissolution of the U.S.S.R. and present-day refugee situations. License to Travel examines the passport's evolution through stories of historical figures, artists, and writers including Langston Hughes, Pablo Neruda, and Gertrude Stein, along with films like The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) and The Terminal (2004).

The book also highlights the significant influence of passports and the challenges of passport inequality. Whether you possess a passport and its type can greatly impact your travel plans. Additionally, having a “bad” passport can limit your ability to cross borders and alter the course of your life. Passports from economically strong countries tend to grant easier access to other nations with visa-free travel, while those from less developed nations often face substantial barriers when attempting to cross borders.

In License to Travel, Bixby argues that obtaining and carrying a passport is more than just a bureaucratic requirement; it symbolizes our freedom to explore and thrive.

You’re a professor of English at Arizona State University—what sparked your interest in writing about travel?

As an Irish studies scholar, I have been lucky to travel extensively to Ireland and beyond. When I began exploring the topic of passports and the emotions they evoke, I immediately thought of that visceral anxiety that arises when you can’t find yours, even for a moment.

I started to delve deeper into the passports of modernist writers and artists, as they were among the first required to travel with such documents, just as we are today. I began to recognize how these documents narrate stories in extraordinary ways. They serve as condensed biographies of individuals, where stamps, personal details, and photographs reveal a narrative that few other historical records can provide.

I appreciated how you conveyed the story of the passport through the lives of renowned historical figures, celebrities, and even films. Why did you think this was the most effective way to express the cultural importance of the passport?

While there are histories of the passport authored by political scientists and sociologists that are quite informative, they can often come across as rather dry.

I identify as a cultural historian, at least that’s how I like to describe myself. I continually stumbled upon amusing and captivating anecdotes regarding people and their passports. It felt much more engaging to narrate the passport's story in this manner rather than how it had been previously told. This collection of stories not only served to illustrate this history but also helped illuminate our current context and the mechanics of our geopolitics. Issues such as the migrant crisis, the travel ban during the Trump era, and challenges at the U.S.–Mexico border are all intricately tied to the role of passports.

Is there a particular story from the book that stands out to you as a powerful example of the passport's significance?

The story of Frederick Douglass and his passport is particularly compelling. Born into slavery, he spoke to travelers even during his youth as an enslaved person. His extensive reading fueled a deep wanderlust within him.

Douglass escaped to freedom using a document similar to a passport, a sailor’s pass, which served as an identity card for travel. However, after gaining his freedom, he was unable to obtain a U.S. passport due to the Dred Scott decision, which ruled that American citizenship did not extend to people of Black African descent.

He pursued a passport for many years, and it symbolized his quest for full citizenship in the United States. At nearly 70, he finally acquired one and embarked on an extraordinary journey through Europe and across the Mediterranean to North Africa, fulfilling the wanderlust he had nurtured for decades, despite the opposition he faced in his quest for a passport.

What do you find most special about traveling?

For me, it’s essential for everyone who can to venture out and connect with people from different backgrounds. While I appreciate beautiful landmarks and stunning views, the true essence of travel lies in meeting others. The unexpected camaraderie that can blossom with people in different places—that's what truly excites me about traveling.