Songs from Unsung Worlds Science in Poetry
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SONGS FROM UNSUNG WORLDS
Science in Poetry EDITED BY BONNIE BILYEU GORDON Science 85
SPRINGER SCIENCE+BUSINESS MEDIA, LLC
Copyright © Springer Science+Business Media New York 1985
Originally published by The American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1985 Softcoverreprint ofthe bardeover 1st edition 1985 Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Main entry under title: Songs from unsung worlds. Includes index. 1. Science-Poetry. 2. Poetry, Modern-20th century. I. Gordon, Bonnie. PN6110.S37S65 1985 808.81'9356 84-23677
CIP-Kurztitelaufnahme der Deutschen Bibliothek
Songs/rom 11numg worlds: science in poetry I ed. by Bonnie Gordon.-Basel; Boston; Stuttgart: Birkhäuser, 1985. Aus: Science; 1985 NE: Gordon, Bonnie [Hrag.)
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the copyright owner.
© The American Association for the Advancement of Science ABCDEFGHI]
ISBN 978-1-4899-6660-5 DOI 10.1007/978-1-4899-6658-2
Illustrations by Glenna Lang
ISBN 978-1-4899-6658-2 (eBook)
CONTENTS
Foreword lntroduction: Dialogue between Alan Lightman and George Starbuck The Subject is Science Observations of the Natural World
Vll
lX
1
95
Science as Metaphor
127
Satire and Criticism of Science
159
Biographkai Notes
211
Acknowledgments
223
V
FOREWORD
"As poets over the centuries concentrated on Grecian urns, nightingales, ravens and romantic love, I am certain that poets in the future will focus on the configuration of planets, stars, weighdessness, and the discovery of our universe," says Maya Angelou, author of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Only recendy has science become a topic of widespread public interest, resulting in a flurry of newspaper and magazine coverage, inspiring television specials and movies. As science has inspired popular media and a new audience, it has inspired poets. This anthology, Songs from an Unsung World, grew out of the successful reception of poetry published in Science 85, a popular magazine sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. During the last four years, the magazine has published science-related poems, and the editors grew to believe that a collection of them would appeal to many people. The project was proposed to Birkhäuser Boston, whose editors happily agreed. The original concept was a collection that traced the influence of science on poetry over several hunqred years. As I began to gather material for the book it became evident that Ms. Angelou's prediction was beginning to prove out already: There is such a wealth of science poetry being written today that an anthology based on contemporary work was demanded. The few historical poems included here were chosen because of particular relevance to one of the four themes by which the book is organized. This anthology is organized in a somewhat unorthodox manner, by subject matter. The poe
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