UPDATE 22-5-2023
Mission success!
Mountain Dreaming is a collection of poetry inspired by mountains, but also by life and its conundrums and its unanswered questions. The poems were written by veteran kiwi climber, Peter Strang over many years spent in and around high places in Aotearoa and also further abroad. I approached Peter after hearing him read some of these poems at a New Zealand Alpine Club monthly meeting and talked to him about designing a book to share his work with the close and wider community. Over the past year, I have collated these poems and designed this publication and the surrounding content as a side project from my study, to get these fantastic poems seen by a wider audience and to hopefully inspire more people to get out into our beautiful pae maunga.
We had around 80 people attend the launch, at @ombrellos who ranged from friends and family to climbers and even designers… rad! I am extremely grateful to all who came and supported me and Pete - thank you! All of the proceeds from every book goes to Nz charity, The Tūpiki Trust, and we raised close to $3500.
I had books, posters, T-shirts, stickers and bags for sale - and sold a total of 190 copies.
The furtherest away book currently is with a friend who purchased one from Austria. The Hocken library also have archived a copy.
It feels weird saying this project is coming to a close - I’ve been working on it for so long that I almost feel that it’s a part of me. It’s gonna be a tough one to say goodbye to!
It feels weird saying this project is coming to a close - I’ve been working on it for so long that I almost feel that it’s a part of me. It’s gonna be a tough one to say goodbye to!
I got funding from the NZAC as well as Tūpiki trust for printing and the launch party which I am extremely grateful for. Below is a collection of photos from the process and outcome.
I was the chairman of the New Zealand Alpine Club - Otago Section for over three years. Every month there is a meeting with a unique speaker who talks about anything outdoors - from being a doctor at K2 basecamp, through to adventure racers and ski mountaineers. In late 2021, a man called Pete Strang, in his 80's, read some poems from a collection he wrote over his years in the hills. The poems were extremely touching, and he had the whole audience in the palm of his hand. I decided at that moment to ask him if he had any of these poems written down, as I wanted to enable more people to read them. And so, the project was born.
Above: Some screen shots of pages showing the graphic style, one of the photo pages, and two poems. I am still working on the overall layout of the poems and at this point feel like I have tried everything! This project has been going on for a year now.
- That was written ages ago... funny to read agin what I was thinking back then. It's crazy how I had no idea what was to come!
Below is some of the final content, which you can also find on the instagram @mountn_dreamin
The top few are pinned images, then story slides, then final presented outcomes. Below is myself, my dad Lindsay, and Pete at the launch. His brother gifted both Pete and myself each a beautiful white silk ceremonial scarf from Nepal. These signify compassion and are honoured with a Tilaka (तिलक) for prosperity. It is considered an auspicious symbol. Colour plays an important role in Nepali society, and the khada (खादा) or scarf is typically white or ivory, symbolizing the pure heart of the giver.
