Writing Science Poetry

Science poetry or scientific poetry is a specializedoften a greater relationship between poetry and
poetic genre that makes use of science as its subject.science than either poets and/or scientists admit.
Written by scientists and nonscientists, science poetsCreativity and romance can be in both, as can the
are generally avid readers and appreciators of scienceintellectual and the mathematical. Both can be aesthetic
and "science matters." Science poetry may be foundand logical. Or both can be nonaesthetic and nonlogical,
in anthologies, in collections, in science fiction magazinesdepending on the type of science and the type of
that sometimes include poetry, in other magazines andpoetry.Science poetry takes it subject from scientific
journals. Many science fiction magazines, includingmeasurements to scientific symbols to time & space
online magazines, such as Strange Horizons, oftento biology to chemistry to physics to astronomy to
publish science fiction poetry, another form of scienceearth science/geology to meteorology to
poetry. Of course science fiction poetry is aenvironmental science to computer science to
somewhat different genre. Online there is the Scienceengineering/technical science. It may also take its
Poetry Center for those interested in science poetry,subject from scientists themselves, from Brahmagypta
and for those interested in science fiction poetry Theto Einstein, from Galileo to Annie Cannon. It may speak
Science Fiction Poetry Association. In addition, there'sto specific types of scientists in general as Goethe
Science Fiction Poetry Handbook and Ultimate Science"True Enough: To the Physicist" in the Ferris anthology.
Fiction Poetry Guide, all found online. Strange Horizons(Subsequent poets mentioned are also from this
has published the science fiction poetry of Joanneanthology.)Science poetry may make use of many
Merriam, Gary Lehmann and Mike Allen.As for scienceforms or any form from lyrical to narrative to sonnet
poetry, science or scientific poets like science fictionto dramatic monologue to free verse to light verse to
poets may also publish collections of poetry in almosthaiku to villanelle, from poetry for children or adults or
any stylistic format. Science or scientific poets, likeboth, for the scientist for the nonscientist or both. John
other poets, must know the "art and craft" of poetry,Frederick Nims has written for example, "The
and science or scientific poetry appears in all theObservatory Ode." ("The Universe: We'd like to
poetic forms: free verse, blank verse, metrical, rhymed,understand.") There are poems that rhyme, poems
unrhymed, abstract and concrete, ballad, dramaticthat don't rhythme. There's "concrete poetry" such as
monologue, narrative, lyrical, etc. All the poetic devicesAnnie Dillard's "The Windy Planet" in which the poem in
are in use also, from alliteration to apostrophe to pun toin the shape of a planet, from "pole" to "pole," an
irony and understatement, to every poetic diction,inventive poem. "Chaos Theory" even becomes the
figures of speech and rhythm, etc. Even metaphysicalsubject of poetry as in Wallace Stevens' "The
scientific poetry is possible. In his anthology, The WorldConnoisseur of Chaos."And what of your science and
Treasury of Physics, Astronomy, and Mathematics,or scientific poem? Think of all the techniques of
editor Timothy Ferris aptly includes a section entitledpoetry and all the techniques of science. What point of
"The Poetry of Science." Says Ferris in the introductionview should you use? Third person? First person, a
to this section, "Science (or the 'natural philosophy' fromdramatic monologue? Does a star speak? Or the
which science evolved) has long provided poets withuniverse itself? Does a sound wave speak? Or a
raw material, inspiring some to praise scientific ideasmicrometer? Can you personify radio
and others to react against them."Such greats asastronomy?What are the main themes, the rhythms?
Milton, Blake, Wordsworth, Goethe either praised orWhat figures of speech, metaphors, similes, metaphor,
"excoriated" science and/or a combination of both. Thiscan be derived from science. What is your attitude
continued into the twentieth century with such poetstoward science and these scientific matters?Read.
as Marianne Moore, T. S. Eliot, Robinson Jeffers,Revise. Think. Proofread. Revise again. Shall you write
Robert Frost and Robert Hayden (e.g. "Full Moon"--"theof evolution, of the atom, of magnetism? Of quanta, of
brilliant challenger of rocket experts") not to mentionthe galaxies, of the speed of sound, of the speed of
many of the lesser known poets, who neverthelesslight? Of Kepler's laws? Shall you write of the history
maintain a poetic response to scientific matters. Saysof science? Of scientific news?Read all the science
Ferris, "This is not to say that scientists should try toyou can.
emulate poets, or that poets should turn proselytes forRead all the poetry you can.You are a poet.
science....But they need each other, and the worldYou are a scientist.
needs both." Included in his anthology along with theWhat have you to say of the astronomer, the comet,
best scientific prose/essays are the poets Waltof arcturus, of star-sirls, of galaxies, of molecular
Whitman ("When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer"),evolution, of atomic architecture, of "planck time" to
Gerard Manley Hopkins "("I am Like a Slip of Comet..."),allude to other poetic titles.What does poetry say to
Emily Dickinson ("Arcturus"), Robinson Jeffersscience?
("Star-Swirls"), Richard Ryan ("Galaxy"), James ClerkWhat does science say to poetry?Susan Shaw is a
Maxwell ("Molecular Evolution"), John Updike ("Cosmicfreelance writer and web content writer. Her articles
Gall"), Diane Ackerman ("Space Shuttle") andand web content appear online.
others.Certainly those writing scientific poetry like thoseSusan Shaw is an affiliate of The Book Store/The
writing science fiction need not praise all of science, butScience Library, (For The Science Library, put
science nevertheless the subject matter, and there is"Science" in their search engine.