Supporting diversity in wild places
Trust supports literature festival to showcase work from under-represented groups in wild places
The John Muir Trust is proud to continue its support of the Open Mountain event at the Kendal Mountain Literature Festival, following its successful inaugural year in 2019.
Open Mountain showcases performance prose and poetry from under-represented groups in wild places, with a panel discussion exploring the experiences of marginalised groups in the outdoors and how to tackle the barriers that face them.
Emma Reed, Award and Engagement Manager at the John Muir Trust, said: “we know that helping people experience wildness will encourage them to care for wild places.
“Creating opportunities to increase diversity in our outdoor spaces is a vital part of our work at the John Muir Trust. Through our work in the John Muir Award and supporting initiatives like Open Mountain, we hope to support people from a range of backgrounds to experience the benefits of nature and landscape.
“We cannot wait to see the excellent work people produce for this year’s competition.”
This year, the event will be taking place online, with the theme of ‘Space and Isolation’. The Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdowns which have followed threw into sharp relief some of the inequalities that exist in relation to access to wild places, or even from their local green spaces.
Paul Scully, Director of the Kendal Mountain Literature Festival, said: “This year is our second Open Mountain event, that gives a voice in outdoor and nature writing from people under-represented in the outdoors.
“We want to open conversations about how we connect with landscape and place from varied personal perspectives. We are delighted that the John Muir Trust continues to support and develop this important initiative.”
Submissions are welcome for performance poetry and prose, and will close midnight on Sunday 25 October. See the Open Mountain website for further details.
- Read Polly Aitken's Field Note from last year's Open Mountain here.