Alan V. Goldman’s Mountaineering-Inspired Life-Lessons Are Recounted In The Final Version Of His Acclaimed Poetry Book
“Reflections on Mountaineering: A Journey Through Life as Experienced in the Mountains” (FIFTH Edition, Revised and Expanded, with Addendum: 2024).
The Author pens the final section, the Addendum, of his celebrated Book, now brimming with one hundred forty-eight “Narrative style” poems that encapsulate profound moral and life-lessons drawn from his extensive experiences in Mountaineering.
Specifically, in the Addendum, the Author acknowledges the fact that the Existentialist doctrine that one has the “free will” to shape one’s destiny is nonetheless be subject to the limitations on the exercise of that free will by at least two principle factors:
“Nature” (one’s physical, genetic inheritance), and “Nuture” (one’s cultural inheritance, or “value-system” instilled in him since birth combine to restrict the scope of the ability of anyone’s “free will” to determine the outcome of any given situation calling for a moral choice. Nonetheless, the Author maintains that “free will” still exists, albeit subject to these limiting factors, and rejects the notion of “determinism,” and its cognate, pre-destination, which hold that the exercise of “free will” is either irrelevant or ineffective.to affect the definition of one’s character and the shape of one’s destiny.
The Author encapsulates the wisdom he garnered during his many decades of mountaineering, drawing upon both his personal experiences, as well as many perspicacious insights derived from his observation of his fellow mountaineers, both peers and instructors. Thus, his Poetry Book, “Reflections on Mountaineering…”serves as a poetic “meditation” on the moral dilemmas encountered in both everyday life and during mountaineering, noting that many parallels exist between the two environments.
While all the poems are in the “Narrative-style,” clearly conveying a lucid, coherent, cogent story, they are presented in various formats, including rhyme, blank verse (meter without rhyme), and as “prose-poems,” or free verse, and all the poems confront the essence of life’s challenges and triumphs as revealed by the struggle to master the mountain environment.
Alan V. Goldman’s pensive poetry thus invites readers to delve into the profound lessons he learned during his mountaineering adventures. Each poem serves as a window into the Author’s experiences and observation about not only “nature” as such, but also human nature, offering a unique perspective on the moral fabric that threads through both the mundane and the extraordinary.
In sum, “Reflections on Mountaineering” stands as a testament to the Author’s dedication to capturing the essence of life’s journey through the travails of mountain climbing, and survival in the mountain arena. This final version of his Book furnishes an enriches reading experience, perfect for both seasoned mountaineers and those seeking to explore life’s challenges through the eloquent lens of artistry in poetry.
Embark on a journey exploring life’s invaluable challenges and lessons by acquiring a copy of “Reflections on Mountaineering…” which is widely available on Amazon , Barnes & Noble, and other leading online book retailers, in Hardback, Softcover and Kindle versions.
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