The Phoenicia Library is setting out to raise the $200,000 needed to complete the renovation and expansion of the building that was gutted by fire two years ago. With $600,000 already secured from insurance, grants, fundraising events, and private donations, and with all the legal permissions finally in place, construction is expected to begin June 1.
“Libraries are very dear to my heart,” said Petit. “I used to spend hours researching and learning in libraries. Preparing for my World Trade Center walk, I collected a lot of technical facts on the Twin Towers by visiting the National Library of Paris. I could not disregard the efforts of a local library to be reborn. Imagine a world — or a village — without books!”
His own latest book is more than a clear guide to tying knots, cleanly illustrated with drawings by Petit. The instructions are augmented by stories of knots that saved his life, plus stunning photos of his high-wire walks at the Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame, Ben Hinnom Valley at Jerusalem, Niagara Falls, Grand Central Terminal, and other locations.
Petit’s intimacy with knots comes from several sources, all highlighted in the book, along with specific applications for each knot. Rigging his high wire requires a variety of reliable knots. In his four years as a solo rock climber, he was again dependent on ropes for his personal safety. Knots also find their way into his magic act, and the book gives examples of a couple of knot-related magic tricks.
He owns no less than 200 books on knots, but Why Knot? is different from all of them. A small window on the cover reveals an actual cord coiled up within the cardboard, for the reader’s use. “This book is personal,” said Petit. “It describes the knots I believe in, and it has surprises to keep the interest of the reader — a challenge or a magic trick.” He also inserts such ephemera as how to tie certain knots one-handed; the art of coiling a rope; how to splice two ropes together; and how to untie knots.
Furthermore, he has developed his own methods for teaching knots to children, making the instructions simple and easy to follow. “In books, it’s often quite difficult to make sense of the illustrations,” Petit observed. “I devised simple, direct ways that you can remember all your life.”
Why Knot? was published on April 9 and launched at a private party held in Manhattan at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, where Petit is artist-in-residence. “The entire church was offered to me and my friends to celebrate,” said the author. In addition, his friend Eric Goode, a hotelier who happens to own a few billboards, offered him the free use of a giant billboard at the corner of 10th Avenue and 18th Street, for a month. Visible from the High Line walkway, the ad has helped give the book a good start.
Petit is already at work on his tenth book, entitled Creativity: The Perfect Crime. “It comes from a proposition by my editor,” he said. “She has observed for the past 20 years my recipes for self-taught creativity. She said I should write a book about my systems.”
His recent volume on the art of the pickpocket (as well as how to protect oneself from same) is available only in French, but an American publisher has expressed interest and may come out with a translation.
Now that Why Knot? is out, Petit is hoping for invitations to give knot-tying classes to firemen, scout troops, survivalists, and other groups who have a use for knot knowledge.
Philippe Petit will present his book Why Knot? on Saturday, May 25, at 2 p.m. at the Methodist Church Hall, 25 Church Street, in Phoenicia. Admission is free, and copies of the book will be available for sale. For more information on the Phoenicia Library reconstruction, see https://www.phoenicialibraryfund.com/.
