Martin Coverley Traces Psychogeography's 300-Year Genealogy

In 'Psychogéographie ! Poétique de l’exploration urbaine' (Les Moutons électriques), Martin Coverley explores the history of psychogeography over the past three centuries, beginning with Daniel Defoe's 1722 work, 'A Journal of the Plague Year,' which depicts the chaotic streets of London during the 1665 plague. He links Defoe to influential figures such as William Blake, Thomas de Quincey, Edgar Allan Poe, Charles Baudelaire, André Breton, and Guy Debord, who introduced the term 'psychogeography' in 1955, defining it as the exploration of how geographical settings influence emotional responses. The Lettrist concept of dérive challenged traditional travel ideas. The final psychogeographic article, Abdelhafid Khatib's 'Essay on the Psychogeographic Description of Les Halles,' was published in 1958. Coverley ends with a reflection on Ballard's 'Crash' and the separation of psychogeography from its revolutionary origins.