These essays travel near and far to explore landscapes of personal and cultural significance and the communities that inhabit them.

At a time when we reexamine how policies of yesteryear shape equities in the present, award-winning writer Stephen Benz challenges readers to delve beyond whitewashed versions of history and reassess our treatment of native people and the environment with fresh, critical eyes. From westward expansion and Manifest Destiny to the Cold War and the Global War on Terror, Reading the Signs prods myths and provides missing context around events touched by the American impulse to grab land and harvest resources—both within and beyond our shores. These essays challenge us to search for missing layers of truth and decide which versions of history should prevail.

With a wandering spirit and an inquisitive mind, Benz ventures around town, across country, and overseas in search of forgotten, overlooked, or misunderstood stories. From rock concerts and courthouses to farm towns, battlegrounds, historical sites, and quirky museums, these “itinerant essays” revel in discovering “new wonders every mile.”

Along with Topographies (Etruscan Press) and two books of travel essays—Guatemalan Journey (University of Texas Press) and Green Dreams: Travels in Central America (Lonely Planet)—Stephen Benz has published essays in Creative Nonfiction, River Teeth, TriQuarterly, New England Review, and other journals. Three of his essays have been selected for Best American Travel Writing (2003, 2015, 2019). His poems have appeared in journals such as Nimrod, Shenandoah, and Confrontation as well as in a full-length collection, Americana Motel, published by Main Street Rag Press. Benz now teaches professional writing at the University of New Mexico.

Stephen Connely Benz