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A Dream of White Horses: Recollections of a Life on the Rocks
'The best climbing book I've ever read.' Lito Tejada Flores High Ed Drummond is one of the great characters of the British climbing scene. An inspired climber and writer, he made first ascents across the UK and wrote some of the most unusual articles in the mountaineering world. In doing so, he won two Keats prizes, a National Poetry prize and created some of the country's most prized routes. A climbing book like no other, A Dream of White Horses mixes climbing tales with an intense personal story. The first ascent of the Long Hope Route on St John's Head and a solo ascent of El Capitan's Nose sit alongside Drummond's eventful childhood and a string of failed relationships that took him to the edge of despair. Political and social concerns appear as Drummond scales Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square in an anti-apartheid protest and the Statue of Liberty in support of civil-rights activists. Told through essays, poems and stories, it is at times exciting, frequently surreal and often deeply personal. First published in 1987, A Dream of White Horses received a mixed reception, reflecting the author's notoriety as a climber. Disregarded by the more conservative publishing and mountaineering establishments, it received rave reviews in the climbing press. Love it or hate it, the book is an undeniably fascinating read. 'The most challenging, disturbing and provocative piece of climbing literature I've ever read ... the consistent brilliance is astounding.' Stuart Pregnall, Climbing magazine
336 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 12, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 9, 2021
From the 1970’s, Ed Drummond made some noisy dents in the climbing mainstream cohort of other big characters with big climbing credentials. He has been described variously as brash, mercurial, a self-publicist, a poet/climber or climber/poet, a bold and determined climber of new routes, unfathomable - but Ed Drummond cannot be captured by a one-dimensional adjective. He won national poetry awards, gave climbing talks and poetry renditions whilst climbing up a scaffold tripod on stage, and even got arrested on TV for climbing Nelson’s Column in protest against Apartheid and Barclay’s Bank’s involvement in South Africa. He is largely responsible for kick-starting urban monument climbing as political activism – he climbed the Statue of Liberty for black civil rights amongst other events.
For climbers, he made memorable first ascents, one sharing the title with this collection of his writings, the elegant line of A Dream of White Horses at Gogarth in Anglesey. He made multi-day ascents of Britain’s highest cliffs at St. John’s Head on Hoy, a 1500m route on the Troll Wall in Norway, and an epic on North America Wall in Yosemite resulting in a helicopter rescue. He left a legacy of climbs that were both challenging and at times controversial, a description that fits his writing too. Like abstract art, you either get Drummond’s writings or you don’t. He takes no prisoners with his prose, and readily makes assumptions that the reader will know the people and places he refers to. The result is a collections of essays and poetry that ranges through the confessional, the self-indulgent, the inspired, the weird and the downright impenetrable. Drummond died in 2019 after a long battle with Parkinson’s Disease, but not before he appeared in mellow and self-deprecating form in Paul Diffley’s wonderful film “A Dream of Edwin Drummond.”
This reprinted version of an icon of climbing literature makes it once more available to add to the essential classics on the bibliophilic climber’s bookshelf. Brace yourself for a challenging read!
For climbers, he made memorable first ascents, one sharing the title with this collection of his writings, the elegant line of A Dream of White Horses at Gogarth in Anglesey. He made multi-day ascents of Britain’s highest cliffs at St. John’s Head on Hoy, a 1500m route on the Troll Wall in Norway, and an epic on North America Wall in Yosemite resulting in a helicopter rescue. He left a legacy of climbs that were both challenging and at times controversial, a description that fits his writing too. Like abstract art, you either get Drummond’s writings or you don’t. He takes no prisoners with his prose, and readily makes assumptions that the reader will know the people and places he refers to. The result is a collections of essays and poetry that ranges through the confessional, the self-indulgent, the inspired, the weird and the downright impenetrable. Drummond died in 2019 after a long battle with Parkinson’s Disease, but not before he appeared in mellow and self-deprecating form in Paul Diffley’s wonderful film “A Dream of Edwin Drummond.”
This reprinted version of an icon of climbing literature makes it once more available to add to the essential classics on the bibliophilic climber’s bookshelf. Brace yourself for a challenging read!
August 20, 2021
A powerful, strange and vidid mixture of prose and poetry. A classic.
May 21, 2021
I really loved this book, but it feels impossible to be sure anyone else would enjoy it. It’s certainly unique; I can’t really think of anything else similar to compare it to. Poetry is interspersed with deeply personal memoir, out of order and occasionally out of sense. It’s an eclectic collection and I found myself never quite sure what I might be about to read next.
This probably isn’t the book for you if you want details into how first ascents were pulled off or if you like a clear picture of a climber’s progression over the years, but it’s definitely one of the more evocative climbing books I’ve read. Lockdown has meant I haven’t had many climbing adventures over the last year, and reading this felt like a beautiful glimpse back into what that life used to be like. Drummond perfectly captures the occasional strand of fear, the determination and creativity needed to forge your way up an unknown wall, the sharp freedom when it does all come together.
Drummond’s beautiful, lyrical prose verges so far into metaphor that sometimes it’s difficult to know what’s real, and I did find that I had to accept a certain level of confusion to enjoy this book. Dummond writes as if any reader is already familiar with the context of each time, and at times the detail becomes a bit too vague. In one chapter, he spends a few days stuck on a ledge without any explanation as to how he ended up there or how he ever escapes it. There’s some really helpful context given for each chapter at the back of the book, but it would have been useful to have this information at the opening of each chapter rather than hidden away at the end.
Some of the poetry felt a bit stronger than the prose; Drummond is incredibly skilled at using images and metaphor to capture the feeling of a whole day. ‘Frankenstein and Linda’ was a standout essay for me, a compelling depiction of Drummond’s nine-day solo on El Cap. The climb is full of life, colour, pain, frustration, lingering fear; Drummond definitely isn’t interested in painting a glamorous picture of the climbing life. His honesty is refreshing, with most of this book feeling more like a peek into someone’s personal diaries than anything written with publication in mind. There is no pretense and nothing held back. And ‘Stone’, about another – more disastrous – attempt on El Cap was unforgettable in its details.
The book ends with ‘A Dream of White Horses’, Drummond’s glorious poem about his ascent of the route of the same name. I really loved how this captures the movement and anticipation of the climb, the beauty and the slight mystery of it.
It’s definitely not a book for everyone, and I can’t imagine Drummond ever intended for it to be. But Drummond’s writing is magical, rich in detail and honesty, and I felt my understanding – appreciation – of climbing was a bit richer for reading this.
This probably isn’t the book for you if you want details into how first ascents were pulled off or if you like a clear picture of a climber’s progression over the years, but it’s definitely one of the more evocative climbing books I’ve read. Lockdown has meant I haven’t had many climbing adventures over the last year, and reading this felt like a beautiful glimpse back into what that life used to be like. Drummond perfectly captures the occasional strand of fear, the determination and creativity needed to forge your way up an unknown wall, the sharp freedom when it does all come together.
Drummond’s beautiful, lyrical prose verges so far into metaphor that sometimes it’s difficult to know what’s real, and I did find that I had to accept a certain level of confusion to enjoy this book. Dummond writes as if any reader is already familiar with the context of each time, and at times the detail becomes a bit too vague. In one chapter, he spends a few days stuck on a ledge without any explanation as to how he ended up there or how he ever escapes it. There’s some really helpful context given for each chapter at the back of the book, but it would have been useful to have this information at the opening of each chapter rather than hidden away at the end.
Some of the poetry felt a bit stronger than the prose; Drummond is incredibly skilled at using images and metaphor to capture the feeling of a whole day. ‘Frankenstein and Linda’ was a standout essay for me, a compelling depiction of Drummond’s nine-day solo on El Cap. The climb is full of life, colour, pain, frustration, lingering fear; Drummond definitely isn’t interested in painting a glamorous picture of the climbing life. His honesty is refreshing, with most of this book feeling more like a peek into someone’s personal diaries than anything written with publication in mind. There is no pretense and nothing held back. And ‘Stone’, about another – more disastrous – attempt on El Cap was unforgettable in its details.
The book ends with ‘A Dream of White Horses’, Drummond’s glorious poem about his ascent of the route of the same name. I really loved how this captures the movement and anticipation of the climb, the beauty and the slight mystery of it.
It’s definitely not a book for everyone, and I can’t imagine Drummond ever intended for it to be. But Drummond’s writing is magical, rich in detail and honesty, and I felt my understanding – appreciation – of climbing was a bit richer for reading this.
April 20, 2021
As Allen Steck summarises within his foreword, I think you've really got to be into some serious rock climbing before you can connect fully with this book. I must be honest and say I'm not so it's fair to say I struggled with the book at times, but that's not to say it doesn't possess literary merit that will I'm sure leave a lasting impression on the reader.
The book, although sometimes referred to as Drummond's autobiography doesn't have that linear chronology typical of the genre. Instead the book jumps about; there is little flow to the articles; the timeline seems to be completely random. Personally I thought the style often appeared more like a set of diary notes or prompts which other writers would later have developed into their finished article. Here Edwin leaves you with his bare draft and you need to fill in the gaps and embellish the image yourself.
The Recollection of a Life on the Rocks takes the form of three parts each with a mixture of some interesting prose, short stories and poetry.
The prose offers challenging reading. It is not a book to be skimmed over. You need to concentrate on the text. Perseverance should be and is rewarded though. You are unlikely to enjoy all the book but even I did respect the author and found enjoyment in a number of the longer pieces. I particularly enjoyed "Frankenstein and Linda" and "A Grace Period".
This edition of "A Dream of White Horses", so named after one of the author's iconic first asecents, is the re-publication of a book originally published in 1987 and then again in 1997 to a mixed and controversial reception.
The book, although sometimes referred to as Drummond's autobiography doesn't have that linear chronology typical of the genre. Instead the book jumps about; there is little flow to the articles; the timeline seems to be completely random. Personally I thought the style often appeared more like a set of diary notes or prompts which other writers would later have developed into their finished article. Here Edwin leaves you with his bare draft and you need to fill in the gaps and embellish the image yourself.
The Recollection of a Life on the Rocks takes the form of three parts each with a mixture of some interesting prose, short stories and poetry.
The prose offers challenging reading. It is not a book to be skimmed over. You need to concentrate on the text. Perseverance should be and is rewarded though. You are unlikely to enjoy all the book but even I did respect the author and found enjoyment in a number of the longer pieces. I particularly enjoyed "Frankenstein and Linda" and "A Grace Period".
This edition of "A Dream of White Horses", so named after one of the author's iconic first asecents, is the re-publication of a book originally published in 1987 and then again in 1997 to a mixed and controversial reception.
June 14, 2021
It took me a long time to sit down and read this as a I knew, or thought I knew given the authors reputation that it was going to be a hard read, and to a certain extent it is. It’s not so much that it is hard it is more that it requires concentration, and whilst you can dip in and out from each essay/poem it rewards reading each individual chapter in one go so as to fully appreciate the sides of himself that the author is exploring and to piece together the clues that he is giving us about his life. The writing is readable and there is a quality and playfulness with the words that is really brilliant, but do not expect a detailed blow by blow account of his cutting edge, if slightly flawed climbing, the text whilst offering itself as a sort of autobiography jumps back and forth, and you deduce as much from what you are not told as what you are. I like the jump between events and the reflection upon them that allows the process that led there to be explored, for most the decisions they make in life sometimes lie dormant only to have an impact years later, some are more immediate, and it is this messy reality of life that to me comes through so well in this book. It is hard to tell to what extent the climbing, his art, poetry and self-promotion stand apart, and I guess all these things are a continuum of everyday practices.
I cannot recommend this book enough, I’m not sure my review can do this book any justice, get started on it, don’t expect a simple narrative, it is worth the effort the reader puts in and makes you think about topics far broader than climbing.
I cannot recommend this book enough, I’m not sure my review can do this book any justice, get started on it, don’t expect a simple narrative, it is worth the effort the reader puts in and makes you think about topics far broader than climbing.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews