Long listed for the Write about Walking Together competition 2024

Learning as we walk is a collective practice

Walking invites us to perceive 
at different tempos and scales, 
attending to landscapes
with a rhythmic form of touch

Trails where we walk 
unmoor us from the familiar- 
unsettling and disrupting, 
remembering and reminding

Walking more slowly together re-enchants 
stories of rocks and trees,
deceptively quiet knowledge
fading to whispers

I suspect we are at the end of something and 
remaining aloof has dangerous implications

But places are never finished 

More attention is required

If we understand ourselves as geologic subjects 
we will wait with ice
think with trees
walk through snow with new clarity

Ongoing encounters are messy and complex, 
strange and haunting,
reframing our collective response

Call it simply, listening

• Read other pieces in the Write about Walking Together competition long list
• Itching to write something yourself? Submit a piece to our Shorelines project, and invite your friends to read it aloud. Join one of our creative writing workshops or keep up to date with all our competitions by signing up to our ‘Walking Writers’ newsletter here or to our curated newsletter that covers all things about walking art here.