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Astronomy and Poetry

Astronomy and Poetry. Jocelyn Bell Burnell Oxford Astrophysics and Mansfield College. Contents. Why astronomy and poetry? Which astronomy and poetry? What astronomy have poets noticed? Poets who are into astronomy Some poems about the Herschels. Why Astronomy and Poetry?. Words, rhythm

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Astronomy and Poetry

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  1. Astronomy and Poetry Jocelyn Bell Burnell Oxford Astrophysics and Mansfield College

  2. Contents • Why astronomy and poetry? • Which astronomy and poetry? • What astronomy have poets noticed? • Poets who are into astronomy • Some poems about the Herschels

  3. Why Astronomy and Poetry? • Words, rhythm • Cannot live without science/cannot live with science alone • Healing/calming • Spell-checker • Elizabeth Jennings - Delay

  4. Which Astronomy and Poetry? • Last 50 years • Astronomy as wallpaper • Scientific accuracy?

  5. Anthology • Invited to publish! • Anthology of c 100 poems • Commissioned c 20 new poems – each poet given an astronomer to work with as a resource person.

  6. Light, radio, infrared, X-ray..

  7. The new astronomies - radio • Jodrell Bank, Cheshire; one of the first large radio telescopes

  8. The new astronomies – X-ray Satellites, launched with rockets, detect the X-rays from stars etc that are cut out by our atmosphere.

  9. Poets who are into astronomy • Robert Frost and Thomas Hardy were amateur astronomers and had their own telescopes • Robert Frost ‘The Star-Splitter’ • (Poetry in the Planetarium)

  10. Families with poets and astronomers • Robinson Jeffers’ brother Hamilton was an astronomer at Lick Observatory • Hilda Doolittle (HD) was the daughter of the Director of Flower Observatory, PA. • Robert Lowell and Percival Lowell of Lowell Observatory were distant cousins. • Gwyneth Lewis has a cousin who is a US Astronaut

  11. Poets into astronomy • Some poets frequently handle astronomical themes: • Diane Ackerman • Robert Frost • Carl Sandberg • Frederick Seidel • Most other poets have only written a few poems on astronomical topics.

  12. What have the poets noticed? • Radio telescopes (but not X-ray) • The scale of the Universe • The Big Bang • Comets • Black holes • Space exploration

  13. Radio telescopes • Diane Ackerman ‘We are listening’

  14. Comets • Stanley Kunitz – • ‘Halley’s Comet’

  15. Comets II • Jennifer Clement – William Herschel’s sister, Caroline, discovers eight comets

  16. Comets III • Kenneth Rexroth – Halley’s Comet

  17. Black holes • Primo Levi ‘The Black Stars’

  18. Planets - Jupiter • James Fields – Jupiter and Ten

  19. William Herschel’s 40’ telescope • John Herschel’s “Ode to ....40’ telescope” • Alfred Noyes – The Torchbearers

  20. Dark Matter • Galaxies spin like Catherine wheels • Spinning so fast they should fly apart • They don’t! • Dark Matter - invisible stuff to add gravity but not light.

  21. Dark Matter II • Rebecca Elson – one of very few professional astronomers who wrote poetry. • A Responsibility to Awe (Carcanet) ‘Let there always be light (searching for dark matter)’

  22. Adrienne Rich • PLANETARIUM Thinking of Caroline Herschel (1750-1848) astronomer, sister of William; and others. Caroline Herschel

  23. The End

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