Expressing the Earth: A Geopoetics Gathering
23–25 October 2026 · Hawick, Scottish Borders
The inaugural ‘Expressing The Earth’ Gathering is a 3-day event will take place over a couple of sites in and near Hawick. It will offer experiences that connect us with the land, the earth around us, to deepen our love for and poetic response to it. At a time when we are becoming ever more urban across the planet, as a human population, how do we engage our hearts and minds to connect with the more than human world?
Geopoetics is inspired by the work of Kenneth White, who would take people out into the wild landscapes of Scotland. He would go on to write inspirationally about what it means to ‘express the earth.’
The first Geopoetics Gatherings were on the Isles of Luing, and Seil, and we’re delighted to bring this unique blend of the arts and culture to the Scottish Borders.
The weekend opens on Friday evening with a screening of Expressing the Earth, the film made in and of the Scottish landscape, followed by a conversation with the film-maker, the dance artist and the producer who made it.
Saturday is given to practice. The day begins quietly engaging with the Tao Te Ching, then moves through a series of workshops, each offering a different way into the same question of how we meet the living world. There is haiku with Norman Bissell, reading Bashō and Buson, before writing our own outdoors. There is writing as a bridge to the landscape with Jane Cormack, working through close observation and deep listening. There is Opening to a Sensuous World with Alistair Duncan, taking Kenneth White’s call to become attuned to the world through practices that shift how we perceive and sense the land. And there is slow instant photography with Jessie Growden, where a limited number of exposures asks you to pause over what is in the viewfinder and around it. Alongside all this, Emily McLatchie’s exhibition is open at Garfield Mill. In the evening we eat together, and then the room turns over to an open mic of poetry and music. And there is still more that will be announced shortly.
On Sunday we walk. A geopoetic walk up-river by a tributary of the Tweed, with a local lunch at the end of it, and the ReKalibrator labyrinth installation waiting there to be walked through in turn.
The gathering is open to everyone — members and non-members, those long steeped in geopoetics and those meeting the word for the first time. You are welcome to come for the whole weekend or for a single session.
The weekend in outline
- Friday evening — buffet meal, followed by a screening of the film Expressing the Earth with a question and answer session.
- Saturday — a day of workshops, with exhibitions running alongside, a buffet in the evening and an open mic night of poetry and music.
- Sunday — a geopoetic walk up-river by a tributary of the Tweed, with a local lunch.
Where it happens
Sessions take place at Cornucopia Unit Four and Garfield Mill in Hawick, both within easy walking distance of the town centre. Full addresses and travel notes are at the foot of this page.
Programme and booking
Most sessions are booked individually through TicketTailor. Workshops are £5. You are welcome to come for the whole weekend or for a single session.
You can book the film and buffet on Friday evening now. The rest of the programme is being confirmed over the next few days. You will be able to see finalised details and book all the events for Saturday and Sunday from Sunday 27th September so do check back then.
Friday 23 October
6pm · Damascus Drum, Silver Street
Buffet meal
An informal supper before the evening’s screening, and a chance to meet others arriving for the weekend. [PRICE TBC]
7.30pm · Cornucopia Unit Four · £10
Expressing the Earth — film screening and Q&A
A screening of the film, followed by a conversation with Glenda Rome (film-maker), Claire Pençak (dance artist) and Norman Bissell (producer).
Along rugged coastlines, through ancient forests, and into the geological bedrock of Scotland’s wild places, Expressing the Earth embarks on a cinematic journey into Geopoetics – the philosophy developed by the late Scottish poet-thinker Kenneth White, which seeks a deeper connection between mind, language, and the living world.
This powerful debut feature by Glenda Rome is a meditation on perception and belonging – guided by White’s poetry and thought, yet grounded in the Earth itself. Through immersive cinematography and the voices of artists, geologists, and thinkers influenced by his work, the film explores where landscape and mindscape meet, revealing a space where geology, art, and inner reflection converge.
Saturday 24 October
9am – 10.30am · Cornucopia Unit Four ·
Tao Te Ching: A New Translation
A morning practice to open the day. [PRESENTER TBC] [PRICE TBC] [TEXT TO COME]
11am – 12.30pm · Garfield Mill · £5
Writing Haiku
With Norman Bissell. We will learn the elements of haiku by reading and discussing Japanese examples by Matsuo Bashō and Yosa Buson, and those of former Edinburgh Makar Alan Spence in his book Glasgow Zen. Norman will also share examples of his own haiku and encourage us to write ours outdoors, weather permitting. We will then read and discuss some of the new work, which may be submitted for publication in our online journal Stravaig.
12.30pm – 1.30pm · [VENUE TBC]
Lunch
Bring your own lunch. [TEXT TO COME — where people should gather]
1.30pm – 3pm · Cornucopia Unit Four · £5
Writing to Connect: A Bridge to the Living Landscape
With Jane Cormack. Writing and all forms of creative expression can be a bridge between ourselves, each other, and the natural world. In this short outdoor workshop we will explore sensory awareness and creativity as pathways to connection. Through close observation and deep listening we will experiment with creative writing, drawing, collaboration and nature-based exercises, and enter into a conversation with the landscape around us. An invitation to feel our way, through words, back to belonging and to the living landscape of which we are a part.
[TIME TBC] · [VENUE TBC] · £5
Opening to a Sensuous World
With Alistair Duncan. In Kenneth White’s definition of geopoetics there are phrases which speak of “seeking a new or renewed sense of world, a sense of space, light and energy, which is experienced using all our senses” and of “becoming attuned to the world with a certain amount of de-conditioning of ourselves by working on the body-mind”. This workshop will approach these proposals directly. We will explore a number of practices that shift our perceptual and sensuous engagement with the land. And we will reflect on the experience of the earth, and of our place in her, that arises from them.
3pm – 4.30pm · Garfield Mill · £5
[TITLE TBC]
With Emily McLatchie. [TEXT TO COME]
3.30pm – 5pm · Cornucopia Unit Four · £5 · limited places
Pause with the Viewfinder: slow instant photography and poetry
Join Jessie Growden to explore instant photography as a way of pausing to consider what is through the viewfinder, and around it. With only a limited number of exposures, take time with the nature in Hawick’s town centre, experiment with composition, and discover the sometimes unexpected results of pressing the shutter. Take notes as you go and find their poetic flow.
6pm · Garfield Mill
Buffet meal
Supper together before the open mic night. [PRICE TBC]
7.30pm · Cornucopia Unit Four ·
Open Mic Night: poetry and music
[TEXT TO COME — whether people should bring work to share, and how to put their name down]
Sunday 25 October
[START AND END TIMES TBC] · meet at West Buccleuch · £5
Geopoetic Walk
With Norman Bissell. A walk up-river by a tributary of the Tweed, ending at Phenzhopehaugh (TD9 7NQ), with a local lunch. [TEXT TO COME — distance, terrain, what to bring, and whether lunch is included in the price]
At the lunch stop on the Sunday walk · [TIMES TBC]
Take the Time to ReKalibrate
The ReKalibrator is a labyrinth installation that invites participants on a transformative journey, encouraging deep reflection on permaculture and our role within it. More than an installation, it is a catalyst for change, inspiring us to reimagine our impact on the earth and its inhabitants.
Exhibitions
These are free and need no booking. Drop in between sessions.
Saturday 24 October, 11am – 4pm · Garfield Mill
Earth and Bone: The Shape of Passing
Work by Emily McLatchie. [TEXT TO COME]
[DAY AND OPENING TIMES TBC] · [VENUE TBC]
Dark Skies
Work by William Morrison-Bell [TEXT TO COME]
Getting there and staying
Venues
- Cornucopia Unit Four — 4 Towerdykeside, Hawick TD9 9EA
- Garfield Mill — Hawick TD9 9BQ
- Damascus Drum — Silver Street, Hawick, TD9 0AD
Breakfast
No 16 Cookhouse and the Damascus Drum both serve breakfast in the town centre. [OPENING TIMES TBC]
Accommodation
Suggestions for places to stay in and around Hawick coming soon.
Questions
Write to us at info@geopoetics.org.uk and we will do our best to help.