The universe in verse : 15 portals to wonder through science & poetry

Book

The universe in verse : 15 portals to wonder through science & poetry / Maria Popova ; illustrated by Ofra Amit.

Popova, Maria, (author,, compiler.). Howe, Marie, 1950- (author.). Dickinson, Emily, 1830-1886 (author.). Auden, W. H. (Wystan Hugh), 1907-1973 (author.). Smith, Tracy K., (author.). Elson, Rebecca,-1999, (author.). Nemerov, Howard, (author.). Hirshfield, Jane, 1953- (author.). Szymborska, Wisława, (author.). Millay, Edna St. Vincent, 1892-1950 (author.). Rich, Adrienne, 1929-2012 (author.). Angelou, Maya, (author.). Ackerman, Diane, 1948- (author.). Plath, Sylvia, (author.). Davis, Marissa, (author.). Cavanagh, Clare, (translator.). Barańczak, Stanisław, 1946-2014 (translator.).

Summary:

"Poetry and science, as Popova writes in her introduction, "are instruments for knowing the world more intimately and loving it more deeply." In 15 short essays on subjects ranging from the mystery of dark matter and the infinity of pi to the resilience of trees and the intelligence of octopuses, Popova tells the stories of scientific searching and discovery. Each essay is paired with a poem reflecting its subject by poets ranging from Emily Dickinson, W. H. Auden, and Edna St. Vincent Millay to Maya Angelou, Diane Ackerman, and Tracy K. Smith"-- Provided by publisher.

Record details

ISBN: 9781635868838
ISBN: 1635868831
ISBN: 9781668644980
ISBN: 1668644983
Physical Description: 95 pages : color illustrations ; 21 cm
Publisher: North Adams, MA : Storey Publishing, [2024]
Copyright: ©2024

Content descriptions

Formatted Contents Note:: Poetry, science, and the cosmos of the possible -- The singularity and our elemental belonging -- Singularity (after Stephen Hawking) / by Marie Howe -- Flowers and the birth of ecology -- [Bloom] / by Emily Dickinson -- Entropy and the art of alternative endings -- The more loving one / by W. H. Auden -- Henrietta Leavitt, Edwin Hubble, and our hunger to know the universe -- From My God, it's full of stars / by Tracy K. Smith -- Dark matter and our yearning for light -- Let there always be light (searching for dark matter) / by Rebecca Elson -- Emmy Noether, symmetry, and the hidden order of things -- Figures of thought / by Howard Nemerov -- Trees and the optimism of resilience -- Optimism / by Jane Hirshfield -- Pi and the seductions of infinity -- Pi / by Wisława Szymborska, translated by Clare Cavanagh and Stanisław Barańczak -- Euclid and the dazzling beauty of universal truth -- Euclid alone has looked on beauty bare / by Edna St. Vincent Millay -- Radioactivity and the mystery of matter -- Power / by Adrienne Rich -- The octopus and the unknown -- Impossible blues / by Maria Popova -- This mote of matter -- A brave and startling truth / by Maya Angelou -- The search for life -- We are listening / by Diane Ackerman -- Mushrooms and the creative spirit -- Mushrooms / by Sylvia Plath -- Singularity squared -- Singularity (after Marie Howe) / by Marissa Davis.