Seven days of walking

What: Wake up to a txt poem or provocation inspiring you to go for a walk or get a reminder in your pocket at morning tea to go out and experience the world.

Seven Days of Walking delivers a micro poem or walking prompt to your phone each day for seven days, taking you on a journey of discovery. One that starts where you are when you receive the sms.

Five writers – Amber Esau, Mustaq Missouri, Jaq Tweedie, Courtney Sina Meredith and Michael Steven – have each created a week-long walking experience for you. All you need to do is sign up and, when you get your sms, go for a walk.

The walks:

Dawn transitions – Words to walk to as the sun rises.
Created by Amber Esau. The txt arrival time is variable as it precedes the sun rising. On the 25 August 2023 the sun rises at 6:52 am.

7am Rising – Inspirations to reach out and make contact with the world.
Created by Mustaq Missouri

10am Break – Exercises to centre your awareness.
Created by Jaq Tweedie (starts on a Monday)

2:30pm Refresher – Mid afternoon mood setters to hold in the mind while walking.
Created by Courtney Sina Meredith

All day dérive – Invitations to explore arriving at variable times across the week.
Created by Michael Steven

How: Select a walk time and register your mobile number in the form. You will receive your first sms on the following Monday. There will be seven daily sms in total.

Holding the prompt in your mind go for a walk from where ever you are.

Registrations for National Poetry Day have closed.

Who: This walk is suitable for all ages.

Difficulty: You set the route and difficulty

What do you need: You need a mobile phone that can receive sms

Access information: This walk is wheel friendly.

What will happen with my number at the end? Your number will only be used for the purpose of sending you the series of seven sms. Once we’ve finished sending you them we will delete your number.

Created by: 

Amber Esau is a Sā-māo-rish (Ngāpuhi / Manase) writer of things from Tāmaki Makaurau, with a Gemini Sun / Virgo Moon. Always vibing at a languid pace, her work has been published both in print and online.

Central city dweller Mustaq Missouri is better known as an actor, however by day he is writing a novel of diaspora, displacement and connection. In 2021 an excerpt from this novel appeared in A Clear Dawn: New Asian Voices From Aotearoa New Zealand.

Jaq Tweedie has written and performed for radio, television, stage and screen. Her books include a poetry collection: The Gull Club published by Dunbar Noon.

Courtney Sina Meredith is a distinguished cultural leader and the author of five books. Her love of language has taken her from from writing childhood rhymes in Glen Innes to being cited by the Guardian as a future Booker Prize winner. She is an Honorary Fellow in Writing at the University of Iowa.

Michael Steven is an award-winning poet. His honours include the Todd New Writer’s Bursary; the Blackwood Paul Memorial Prize; and the 2021 Kathleen Grattan Poetry Award for his manuscript Night School, which was published by Otago University Press. He lives in the Waitākere region of Tāmaki Makaurau and works as a labourer.