I guess oxygen tanks would be in order - there aren't many who've climbed to the
top of Everest without an assist like that. At the top, breathing heavily, into a
tape-recorder or satelite telephone, it all seems a tad pointless - one slightly
limp symbolic concoction dripped lifeless from another which has wedged itself
into the Western Consciousness.
I guess mounting an expedition like this - say, 30 people all told, including
sherpas, relays etc, (?cost of about a 200-300K, US Dollars?) must say something
about the symbolic importance that some people place in poetry (regardless of the
particular quality). Or should I say a veil of respectability that poetry is
supposed to give the UN's project in this instance ("Dialogue Among Civilizations
Through Poetry"?). It seems to me, that if one wanted to start a "dialogue among
civilisations", one might be better off using a -visual- medium, rather than one
demonstrating a one-world, global market sort of civilisation.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Frank Parker" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: 02 February 2001 22:02
Subject: Re: PK Page's poem selected to be read at the UN and on Mt.
> Right on, Mr. Weiss, great points!
>
> Another thought I haven't heard anyone consider is how thin the air is at
> nearly 30,000 feet. I've only climbed half that distance and can only
> imagine how pained a person would be at the thought of having to read a poem
> further up (and I think anything over four lines at 30,000 feet is a longish
> poem when it's all you can do to breath!)
> - Frank
> ***************
> Frank Parker
> [log in to unmask]
> http://now.at/frankshome
>
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