Poetry Walk

Poetry walk, is an outdoor activity aims to bring people together and co work through poetry writing. The idea is how to extract the trove feeling of the place, and utilizing the power of imagination to simulate the things. Nature and buildings, or a boat lurching in the river.. what may capture our attention! 

It’s a way to probe ourselves as new writers, and to meditate calmly to exploring maiden horizons in us through being fusioned with our surroundings.

Turku Cathedral, the great monument in Turku, was the first landmark what the participants were asked to write about. “What’s behind the door” the door of the cathedral that could lead to the crypts of the history, to the centuries standing like giants, surrounding our presence. 

This is a way to summon the aroma of the past via poetry. To project various perspectives revolving around one place. It is an attempt to create a one joint brain, and one joint heart in bid of mitigating the differences and creating a better understanding. We succeeded to emerging what we think and feel about Turku cathedral. 

To complete the image, and to follow the rhythm of the city, we had to descend to “Aura”. We ignited our senses to addressing the beautiful tree standing by the river. We went through it, and squeezed the feeling of it. Nothing is overlooked, because poetry is the art of diving into the small details, to forming up the broader image. Aura that passes slowly like a folk song or a tale, bringing the news and narratives of the farms and meadows to the towns, when it passes through them. 

The poetry walk enabled us to facilitate new talents, by bringing them to the mainstream. “Turku Open Mic” event was penetrated by us singing our poems that we wrote in our two poetry walks. This is how StepEurope would always be a vital part of what’s happening in Turku in many instances. 

In addition to that, we’ve already agreed on conducting another Poetry Walk on August 16th (more information from the FB event), we have talked about “Turku Market Square” as a theme for our forthcoming poetry walk. The place that thrives with diversity and the beauty of the city. For our poetry walk, you don’t need to be a professional writer, because the idea is to bring people together for creating a good communication with other participants via writing.

Ahmed Zaidan - StepEurope Volunteer