Astronomy and Poetry: A Resource Guide
The Astronomy Education Review, Issue 1, Volume 1:114-116, 2002
© 2002, Andrew Fraknoi. Copyright assigned to the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc.
Download PDF version of this article
Abstract
The ideas and discoveries of astronomy have been celebrated in poetry for thousands of years. I have found that adding an occasional poem to my lectures and discussions can help illuminate the human response to some of the topics we are discussing in class, and can show that astronomy is very much a part of our cultural heritage. Below are some selected sources for poems and explanations.1. Anthologies of Astronomy or Science Poems
Brown, Kurt, ed. Verse and Universe: Poems about Science and Mathematics. 1998, Milkweed Editions. Includes a nice variety of 20th century poems inspired by astronomical research.
Davidson, Norman Sky Phenomena. 1993, Lindisfarne Press. This guide to naked-eye observing includes a 42-page chapter of astronomical poetry.
Digby, Joan & Brier, Bob, eds. Permutations: Readings in Science and Literature. 1985, Morrow/Quill. Juxtaposes excerpts from scientific writings with poems and other literature inspired by them.
Gordon, Bonnie, ed. Songs from Unsung Worlds. 1985, Birkhauser and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. A collection of poems about science, with several about astronomy.
Knuijt, Jerome, ed. Poetry of the Heavens. 1989, Mira Publishing (Route 1, Box 201, Hortonville, WI 54944). Eclectic collection, with major and minor poets included.
Levy, David Starry Night: Astronomers and Poets Read the Night Sky. 2001, Prometheus Press. Appealing book by a comet hunter and astronomy popularizer, who was an English major, with both poems and astronomical background.
Plotz, Helen, ed. Imagination's Other Place: Poems of Science and Mathematics. 1955, Crowell. This long-out-of-print book has a section of poems called "Watchers of the Skies."
Vas Dias, Robert Inside Outer Space: New Poems of the Space Age. 1970, Anchor/Doubleday. Inspired by the Apollo landings on the Moon, this anthology focuses particularly on poems of space exploration, but includes astronomy as well.
2. Some Collections of Astronomy Poetry by One Author
Ackerman, Diane Jaguar of Sweet Laughter. 1991, Random House. Evocative poems from an American poet who took astronomy from Carl Sagan at Cornell. (See also her The Planets: A Cosmic Pastorale, parts of which are collected in Jaguar.)
Bradley, George Terms to be Met. 1986, Yale University Press. Includes such poems as "M-31 in Andromeda" and "The Life of Stars."
Elson, Rebecca A Responsibility to Awe. 2001, Carcanet Press. Poems, many about astronomy and science, by an astronomer who published poetry while she continued to do her research.
Jeffers, Robinson Selected Poetry of Robinson Jeffers. (Edited by Tim Hunt) 2001, Stanford University Press. Jeffers' brother was an astronomer at the Lick Observatory and a number of his poems treat astronomical and cosmological themes.
Levi, Primo Collected Poems. 1988, Faber & Faber. Poems by a chemist and Holocaust survivor, a few of which have astronomical themes.
Oles, Carol Night Watches: Inventions on the Life of Maria Mitchell. 1985, Alice James. Poems based on the journals and letters of the 17th century American astronomer.
Pack, Robert Before It Vanishes: A Packet for Professor Pagels. 1989, Godine. Poetry responding to some of the popular science books by the late Heinz Pagels, with many poems on physics and astronomy themes.
Updike, John Facing Nature. Includes "Moons of Jupiter" and "Ode to Entropy," among other science poems.
3. A Few Books Analyzing the Interaction of Astronomy and Poetry
Meadows, A. J. The High Firmament. 1969, Leicester U. Press. A scholarly analysis of British poetry inspired by astronomy from the medieval period to the Victorians.
Nicolson, Marjorie Newton Demands His Muse: Newton's "Opticks" and the 18th Century Poets. 1963, Archon.
Nicolson, Marjorie Science and Imagination. 1956, Cornell U. Press. Essays on science and literature, especially about the effect of the telescope on the imagination of poets.
4. Articles
Ackerman, D. "The Poetry of Diane Ackerman" in Mercury, Jul/Aug 1978, p. 73.
Berman, L. "The Wayward Heavens in Literature" in Journal of College Science Teaching, vol. 5, p. 82 (1975).
Black, T. "Oliver Wendell Holmes: Poet of the Sky" in Sky & Telescope, June 1999, p. 52.
Byard, M. "Poetic Response to the Copernican Revolution" in Scientific American, June 1977, p. 121.
Carter, T. "Geoffrey Chaucer: Amateur Astronomer?" in Sky & Telescope, Mar. 1982, p. 246.
Fraknoi, A. & Friedman, A. "Images of the Universe" in Mercury, Mar/Apr 1975, p. 14. On astronomical poetry through history.
Grover, F. "Poetry and Astronomy" in Scientific Monthly, vol. 44, p. 519 (1937).
Impey, C. "Reacing to the Size and Shape of the Universe" in Mercury, Jan/Feb. 2001, p. 36 & Mar/Apr. 2001, p. 34. On poets' reactions to cosmological discoveries.
Marschall, L. "Modern Poetry and Astronomy" in Mercury, Mar/Apr 1983, p. 41.
Marschall, L. "Comets and the Muse" in Mercury, Jan/Feb. 1986, p. 10.
Maynard, C. "Robert Frost: Poet of the Night" in Sky & Telescope, June 1992, p. 692.
Olson, D. & M. "William Blake and August's Fiery Meteors" in Sky & Telescope, Aug. 1989, p. 192.
Rodgers, G. & Zolbrod, P. "Images of Creation in Science and Poetry" in Journal for College Science Teaching, May 1986, p. 530.
Weitzenhoffer, K. "Well Versed in Astronomy" in Sky & Telescope, Oct. 1990, p. 365. Brief introduction to astronomy in poetry over the centuries.
Yorka, S. "Planets and Poetry" in Journal of College Science Teaching, May 1995, p. 404.