I decided to investigate "taking texts for walks" because I liked the idea but I didn't know what it meant. Images came into my mind: a group of people walking and reading together, a reader wearing a headlamp at night, reading at traffic lights... so maybe it would be a performative project?

But soon I knew that what drew me was the paradox. The first question that came to me when I sat down to think about it was: am I a reader or a walker? Obviously most people walk sometimes and read sometimes, on the face of it they are two very ordinary activities. But there have been periods in which I have sat still, working or studying with a rushing mind, filling myself up with words. When I do that my energy dries up, everything becomes fragile, joy recedes, fog comes. I forget that it clears with a walk, a run, a journey. I am thinking of doing postgraduate study, and I see now that I'm anxious about committing to the culture of sitting down, of being out of the weather, of readers in chairs and words in books.

I think about nomad cultures and sedentary cultures, the different ways in which they acquire and store knowledge, and about the power and resilience of each. It is impossible to come back to Australia and not think about these things in terms of ethics, of meaning. I also think about migrant families, like mine.

So I have read and walked on the streets of Marrickville and I figured out what was bothering me. This makes me stronger and less fearful, and also points to paths I want to follow.

I was able to do this thanks to frontyard, which offered the space I needed for this adventure, and like-minded travellers. (thanks June for walking with me)

nearlynuria at gmail.com