Hello there. I’m Dave.
Welcome to my little corner of the Internet.
Here is where I share my creative writing, essays, and walking texts.
I was a boy when I wrote my first poem.
I traded it for a sketch from my artistic friend.
We traded poems and drawings for a couple of years before I moved away.
I picked up poetry again later,
when I was in first-year university.
For a friend’s birthday gift,
having no money,
I hand-wrote him a book of poetry,
making him the knight and hero in a series of battles
against dragons and other enemies.
When I finally caught up to him again in the world,
thirty-five years had passed.
He still had the book and proceeded to read some of the poems to me,
horrifyingly, in front of his wife and children.
I suggested those old poems might be more valuable as fireplace kindling.
Though he would never admit that the poems displayed any real talent,
he still values them immensely.
I dabbled in poetry over the years,
writing humourous alternative lyrics to popular Christmas carols,
texting rhymes to my friends,
attempting to woo the occasional romantic interest,
which explains why I’m single.
I wonder if I would be happy without poetry in my life,
both reading it and writing it.
I think not.
The truth is that I love reading and writing,
at least as much as I love walking.
These are my reasons for getting out of bed in the morning,
my raison d’être,
my ikigai.
My walking posts are not how-to texts.
I don’t give you details on how to hike a trail
or how to complete a walk yourself.
Other bloggers make their living that way
and some are very good at it.
My writing is more experiential –
impressions, thoughts, feelings, moments, events, that sort of thing.
Everything I post on this website is an experiment in the creative process.
I like some of the pieces I’ve written,
but I feel that I missed the boat on some.
Still, I post them.
Why?
Because there can still be a connection
between a reader and an imperfect piece of writing.
If even one post here encourages you to be creative
(don’t deny it; you certainly can write a better poem than I),
or to think about something differently,
or to head out on your own walk,
or to dare you to do something great,
I have met my objective.
I am forever grateful to those who inspire me.
For poetry,
I am particularly drawn to the writing of the Canadian poets,
Margaret Atwood, Leonard Cohen, and Howard White especially.
And for my walks,
I’m inspired by the great walking creatives –
poets such as William Wordsworth,
philosophers such as Immanuel Kant,
and walking artists such as Hamish Fulton.
I also acknowledge,
with humility and gratitude,
all of the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis,
on whose traditional and unceded lands and waters I travel in Canada.
If you have thoughts or feedback you’d like to share,
please feel free to post a comment on one of the posts
or contact me at DaveGutscher [at] gmail [dot] com.
Live boldly.
Hope our trails cross one day.
Dave