Thursday, February 20, 2014

Excitement of Proving a Theorem

Wow!  From first sighting, I have loved this description:

       I prove a theorem and the house expands:
       the windows jerk free to hover near the ceiling,
       the ceiling floats away with a sigh.

These lines from "Geometry" by Rita Dove express -- as well as any string of twenty-four words I can think of -- the excitement experienced from proving a theorem.
      Dove served as Poet Laureate of the United States during 1993-1995; at age 40 she was was the youngest person to hold the position and is the first African American to hold the position after the title was changed to Poet Laureate (both Robert Hayden (1976-78) and Gwendolyn Brooks (1985-86)) served under a prior title, "Consultant in Poetry."
     During February we celebrate Black History.      Previous postings on that topic include:   2 February 2011 (featuring math-related poetry by June Jordan (1936-2002),   20 February 2011 (celebrating mathematician, teacher, administrator and integrationist Martha Euphnemia Lofton Haynes (1890-1980) and poet Langston Hughes (1902-1967),  18 February 2012 (more of Langston Hughes),  2 October 2012 (featuring the puzzle-poems of Benjamin Banneker), and 4 February 2013 (more of June Jordan).  Not only during February but throughout the year, the Poetry Foundation's array of "Poems to Celebrate Black History Month" is a valuable resource.

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