Attendant Writing – a writing workshop grounded in ecological thinking

About

As our world undergoes ecological crisis, we have a chance to attend to it anew, monitoring its shifts and responding to them. And yet, we are often in states of distraction: anxious about large-scale forces, conscious of our ‘second body’s distant impact on the world around us, with our attention demanded by so many interrelated crises that it can feel impossible to be truly present.

The words ‘attention’ and ‘attending’ are rooted in the idea of stretching oneself – or one’s mind – towards something: adapting and attenuating oneself towards another entity. These words are related to tenderness, tendrils, temples, tension, and acts of sustaining. ‘Attending’ evolved into a sense of waiting, expectantly. What realities and relationships are we perceiving or awaiting? What are we paying attention to – or stretching ourselves towards? Which new or renewed modes of attention do we want to nurture?

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This three-hour workshop with Fiona Glen will nurture awareness and presence through writing. We will actively experiment with different writing exercises and practices for deepening our attention to the world around us, and for actively tending to relationships with place and other beings.

Punctuated by discussion and moments of sharing, this workshop will also be rooted in key references, from Anna Tsing’s call to look around rather than just ahead to Emily Ogden’s lucid uncertainty to Robin Wall Kimmerer’s listening to landscapes full of teachers. Together, we will consider the connections between attention and tending, between awareness and unknowing, and between sensing and imagination.

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Please Note:

• Places are free, but spaces are very limited to make this a meaningful experience. Please book early to avoid disappointment and return your ticket if you are unable to attend.
• Weather permitting, around one hour of this workshop will be held outdoors. We will walk together to a park near LOT Projects, 600 metres away.

Please bring a water bottle and your preferred writing materials, e.g. notebook and pen, or phone. If you choose to bring a laptop, please note that the workshop will be partly in the park.

More information and book your ticket below:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/attendant-writing-a-writing-workshop-grounded-in-ecological-thinking-tickets-680487134337

Lot Projects is a wheelchair accessible venue. 

For any additional accessibility requirements or questions, please get in touch.