Turning 40: 40 turns. Walking & friendship

Heddon, D. (2012) Turning 40: 40 turns. Walking & friendship. Performance Research, 17(2), pp. 67-75. (doi: 10.1080/13528165.2012.671075)

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Abstract

Marking the occasion of her 40th birthday, Deirdre Heddon invited 40 people to take her on a walk of their choice. These varied occasions of walking prompted reflection on what it is to walk with others. In ’40 Walks’, Heddon explores the histories and discourses attached to walking in company, as opposed to walking alone; the sorts of companionship walking allows and call forths; the ways in which different walks structure different sorts of being together – the side by side, the stepping into another’s footsteps, the mutual pauses, the out of step. ’40 Walks’ considers how walking and the practicing of friendship are related; how walking and friendship travel together. Citing examples and writings from the nineteenth century to the present, ‘40 Walks’ explores what it is to walk with. Heddon proposes companionable walking as an instance of Jean-Luc Nancy’s ‘being-singular-plural’ rather than Emmanual Levinas’ face-to-face encounter with alterity. Heddon finds walking an appropriate vehicle for creating, sustaining, maintaining – and in some instances - testing friendship. Through walking, one exercises friendship, providing a grounding and a materialising. Companionable walks are proposed here as collaborative practices in which instances of out-of-step, to borrow from Deleuze and Gauttari, also allow for generous negotiation and a co-authorship between (at least) two. The walks gifted to Heddon for her 40th birthday are revealed as acts of generosity that provide creative ground for the collaborative cultivation of friendscapes.

Item Type:Articles
Additional Information:This is an electronic version of an article published in Heddon, D. (2012) Turning 40: 40 turns. Walking and friendship. Performance Research, 17 (2). ISSN 1352-8165. Performance Research is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13528165.2012.671075
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Heddon, Professor Deirdre
Authors: Heddon, D.
College/School:College of Arts & Humanities > School of Culture and Creative Arts > Theatre Film and TV Studies
Journal Name:Performance Research
Publisher:Taylor and Francis
ISSN:1352-8165
ISSN (Online):1469-9990
Published Online:08 May 2012
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2012 Taylor and Francis
First Published:First published in Performance Research 17(2):67-75
Publisher Policy:Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher

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