An Invitation to a Winter Solstice Walk with #52more

You are invited to join Blake and me as we walk into winter.

The idea for this walk began in June when I responded to Blakes's call with an offer to be part of a walking project that he has been running for some time. You can read about the project here: More about #52more

I am offering a little preamble to my walk here as I prepare to walk tomorrow. 

I  emailed Blake in June and was delighted to receive my words in the post together with a leaflet. The instructions allowed me to use the words and the leaflet in whatever way I chose. Blake suggested that this should take place over seven days. This included using both sides of the cut-out words and doing as I wished with the leaflet.

 With some trepidation (why are we so afraid of getting it wrong ), I created this collage which, as I have looked at it over time, resembles a map. I am guessing this is because the leaflet had a map on it.

I made this piece as my suggestion for a walk with Blake six months ago or more. So I have had quite some time to think about it.

 I wrote a score by cutting and pasting the words I was sent, and Blake has provided his understanding of how to approach/ interpret it. I have included this below: 

We’ll be walking through books of our choosing and crafting stories of space (how does walking function as a storytelling mechanism). Read the score, interpret it how you like, and join us as autumn turns into winter.

I have spent a great deal of time thinking about it.

My thinking has led me on a path that I am briefly outlining below.

My original book which I was going to reference was La Ciudad de las Bestias by  Isabel Allende, which for some reason in my mind was The Forbidden City.

I then saw that the English translation for the title of Allende's book was City of the Beasts, in my head it had always been The Forbidden City, who knows why? As you will see at the end of this posting this has proved rather fortuitous.

As I considered how walking might function as a storytelling mechanism,  I started to consider the map-like qualities of the collage that I had made from Blake's words. This took me to A Different LENS. This is a map I created with 12 artists and the Margate Bookie which takes you on walks using locative media and Literature.

You can access the map through the QR code on the image, use photos in your phone settings and scan it with your camera. 

My entry on the map told some of the stories of my family and its history through, Borges and the song Caminito on Buenos Ayres street in Margate. It also might help to explain why my name is Elspeth and, yes, I am from South America. You can follow my entry here:  https://cgeomap.eu/adifferentlens/?nodo=858

I then started again to think about Borges. I knew I was following an interesting path when Sonia Overall through #DistanceDrift on Twitter invited us to choose a book for a little bibliomancy the Sunday before last. 

I had to find a book rather quickly and went to my night table where there was a copy of Allende's House of the Spirits, and then, I spotted Borges.

This is what Umberto Eco wrote printed  on the back cover  of the book: 

"Joyce and Borges. The first designed with words and the second designed with ideas: the original, the one and only World Wide Web. The Real Thing. The rest will remain merely virtual "

This immediately made me consider the connections between words, ideas, and the world wide web where I found my map of The Forbidden City.

I then realized that the clue to my walk was staring at me in the face. As always I had become too literal in my thinking. 

This is how I have chosen to walk with a map of the forbidden city for my winter solstice walk. This of course connects to restrictions and what we are allowed to do or not depending on our circumstances during the present time.

I have included a copy of the map here. Make sure you click on it to see the key. I am very excited about how this will guide me. I will be walking tomorrow at 10.00 am and you can join me on Twitter @ThreadandWord #52more. It would be fab if you would like to try this too or, of course, I would love to see your own response if you are happy to share it with Blake. 

Happy Winter Solstice and Happy Walking!