girl, walking: a short essay

Walking as evidence of existence

Hello, my name is Apoorva Sripathi and I’m a writer and editor. For this week’s paid subscriber newsletter, I am attempting something different¹ – a short essay on walking. And if I’m lucky, this will be a regular series. If you’d like to support my work, please consider a paid, annual subscription (also cheaper) that will sustain me and my writing. Thank you!

The flâneur in the city has been the subject of many essays and books. So consider my contribution to the genre. All of this week, I’ve been walking the same loops throughout, around where I live in south London, looping me inward to my cognitive process. As a writer, you tend to be bound to your desk – the ultimate desk job there is – and you have to like it to some extent to be indefinitely married to it. But the chance to step away and meander along a pavement and hope it offers something to write about is too precious to pass on. I’d be lying if I said that’s not why I walk.

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