Hosted by Simon Piasecki and Andrew Stuck, the Write About Walking showcase event introduces the shortlisted authors of the walk · listen · create / Sound Walk September writing competition, and includes readings of their poetry and prose.
Run by the Museum of Walking and Sampson Low Publishers the walk · listen · create writing competition will attract scores of entires. The competition required writers to compose poems or prose of 250 words and under, inspired by the theme of “walking and listening”.
The shortlisted pieces are published in WALKING an illustrated chapbook anthology and issued as an audio book, sale proceeds of which go to support future walk · listen · create writing competitions. Copies of the book can be purchased – scroll down for further information.
The winners and runners-up in each of the poetry and prose categories will be announced at the event – with the accolade of on-line Poet & Prose Writer-in-Residence for 2022 walk · listen · create and for Sound Walk September 2022 going to the winners in each category.
We are grateful to the Museum of Walking for providing financial support towards the prizes and the showcase.
Running order of Authors shortlisted and their pieces:
Paul Roden (poetry) “Winterfold Forest” – their inspiration: “The Tillingbourne rises in the Surrey Hills, nine miles east of Guildford.”
Lydia Kennaway (poetry) “Blind march to London April5th-25th 1920” – their inspiration: “In 1920, two hundred and fifty blind people from all over the country marched to London to lobby the government for improved working and living conditions. I was inspired by my own history of childhood visual impairment, and my work with blind musicians, to imagine what this long walk must have been like. My poem takes the theme of walking and listening to further explore the individuality of perception among visually impaired people, from synaesthesia to visual memory.“
Claudia Zeiske (prose) “Walk, Look, Listen, Slow Marathon Cabrach – Huntly” – their inspiration: “I have been running Slow Marathons – marathon length walks without pressure of time – for the last 10 years. Since the pandemic such groups walks were made difficult and instead I was doing one on my own – often talking to myself. The text – inspired by the song Die Gedanken sind frei/Thoughts are free – reflected loosley my train of thought on the way.“
Jo Riggall (prose) “Noticing” – their inspiration: “I wrote ‘Noticings’ when feeling grateful that my parents have passed on their ability to see and appreciate the small things. Anyone can notice, whether through walking, listening or just being in the world.“
Sophie Austin (prose) “Uncle David” – their inspiration: “Uncle David has been adapted from a journal entry.
I started writing a weekly journal in March 2020 to document this wild year for my two year old son who will hopefully grow up not remembering any of it!“
Megan Hicks (poetry) “The compass” – their inspiration: “My piece describes something I noticed in an unfamiliar street while taking a covid-restricted walk inside my local area. I am a habitual walker, always on the lookout for little surprises, but on this occasion I heard the surprise before I saw it.“
Nathan Munday (poetry) “Garth Hill” – their inspiration: “Our hills are saturated with memories and, when you listen carefully, you can hear these reverberations. Losing ‘Tadcu’, my grandfather preacher, was such a strange cessation. Listening to his Lazarus voice on a well-known hillside transformed a shared space into a sacred spot.“
Kate Meyer (poetry) “Walk, Listen, Repeat” – their inspiration: “I wrote ‘Walk, Listen, Repeat’ after my first visit to London after lockdown, where hitting familiar streets after two years in Devon was a literal shock to the system. And my feet!“
Jane V Adams (prose) “The Gift” – their inspiration: “What would it be like if you could no longer hear the things you love? I was inspired to write The Gift after a conversation with a friend who can no longer hear the high-pitched calls of a wren or the chirps of grasshoppers in the summer grass. What would it be like, I wondered, if there was a machine that turned sounds into vibrations, so that you could feel those longed for tunes?“
Murdo Eason (poetry) “Loop Walking (a fragment)” – their inspiration: “The repetition and constant variations of a daily ‘loop-walk’ — starting from, and returning to, the front door, during lockdown.”
E.E. Rhodes (prose) The Nightingale – their inspiration: “I was out on a nighttime walk and came across a group of silent men standing on the edge of a wood. Just waiting. Listening. I was compelled by the thrilling sense of anticipation as we walked softly into the dark.“
Maggie McShane (poetry) “Fatherland“ – their inspiration: “Fatherland is inspired by my childhood walks with my father. I have many memories of trying to keep pace with him as we crisscrossed across Glasgow. The soundtrack to our walks were his stories about our city and our Irish heritage. During ‘walking season’ (when the marching bands take to the streets) the stories of our ancestors slammed into our present day. Our walks and our heritage collided.“
Anne Bailie (prose) “The Belfast Greenway” – their inspiration: “I was diagnosed with a rare and incurable form of Stage Four Neuroendocrine Cancer, with Carcinoid Syndrome, in the autumn of 2020. Throughout lockdown and following major abdominal surgery and continuing cancer treatment, I have found daily walks on the nearby Greenway with my dog, Thorin, to be amazingly therapeutic and uplifting. I started writing about these walks in my journal and in letters and that writing inspired me to enter this competition about Walking and Listening.“
Liz Nicholas (poetry) “Stepsounds” – their inspiration: “This piece came from hot still days walking along the Pembrokeshire coast path in July 2021. I was listening to the sounds of the life around me – birds, insects, water – but in this poem I chose to focus on the rhythm of my feet meeting the landscape. The sound of your feet tells you about the quality of the ground; this is where you and the world interact.”
Angela Findlay (prose) “The Sound of Footfall” – their inspiration: “Walking the Camino de Santiago after my father’s death was a profound experience. It both connected me to the WW2 experiences of my German grandfather, who I never met, and taught me that taking one little step after another, literally or metaphorically, can get you through the challenges of life.“
Buy WALKING – the limited edition illustrated chapbook anthology of 15 poems and stories inspired by walking and listening €4.50 + p&p
All proceeds go to support future Sound Walk Septembers
I have registered and paid the fee for the Sound Walk September writing competition – but can’t see how to submit my story. Can you help?
Hi Rob. Thanks! And apologies for not noticing your comment earlier.
I believe you might have paid for something else. I can see you purchased a ticket for the event on this very page, which is a live event which is set to happen at the end of September.
I also see that you purchased a ticket for the writing competition and that you managed to submit a piece. So, it seems you managed to figure this out, despite my slow response 🙂
If you need me to, I can refund your purchase of a ticket for the event in September. Or, I can transfer it to another event. Let me know.
You can also reach me directly at [email protected].