Bread Loaf Blog #2: Poetry & Walking

Just got out of a lecture from Edward Hirsch, who talked about the link between poetry and walking. A few interesting highlights:

1. He talked about the word saunter and its origins: (v.) c.1475, santren "to muse, be in reverie," of uncertain origin. Meaning "walk with a leisurely gait" is from 1667, and may be a different word entirely. Some suggest this word derives via Anglo-Fr. sauntrer (1338) from Fr. s'aventurer "to take risks," but OED finds this "unlikely." The noun meaning "a leisurely stroll" is recorded from 1828.

2. A quote: "A walk, like a poem, takes place for its own sake."

3. He focused on two aspects of walking and poetry -- A) walking as a stimulant to the imagination, how it encourages associative thinking and digression, a drifting state of mind, and B) the tradition of poems about walking. Some very few of the many poems/poets he referenced:

A. R. Ammons -- "Corson's Inlet"
Elizabeth Bishop -- "The End of March"
Langston Hughes -- "Harlem Night Song"
William Wordsworth -- "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud"
Basho -- Narrow Road to the Far North

4. Fun-fact: Hirsch said Wordsworth coined the term pedestrian.

Okay, so here's my thought on the whole thing: If you feel stuck with writing your drafts for this class, why not set aside some time for a walk this weekend? Walk (in a safe place!) for an hour. Don't take a notebook. Just let your mind wander. See if something gets sparked. If so, come back and write it. Put the walk itself in the poem if you want to.

And if nothing gets sparked? Well, a walk, like a poem, takes place for its own sake.

Have a good weekend...

*