Charlotte Henderson majored in mathematics and English at Wellesley College and has applied her dual interests as an editor for A K Peters, Ltd (a science and technology publisher that is now part of CRC Press). Several manuscripts on which she has worked at A K
Peters have drawn her to the connections between mathematics and
art, including needlework. She is particularly interested in the diverse
possibilities of crochet, which she learned after working on Daina Taimina's book, Crocheting Adventures with Hyperbolic Planes. Charlotte has turned this interest into art and into a poem:
Showing posts with label A K Peters. Show all posts
Showing posts with label A K Peters. Show all posts
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Monday, July 12, 2010
Poetry-application of The Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic
Destructive effects of human greed and neglect on the earth's natural environment are echoed hauntingly in the repetitions within "We Are the Final Ones" -- a dirge-like poem I've constructed using the Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic. (For those unfamiliar with the theorem, brief explanation is included in paragraphs that follow the poem):
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Square comment on shoe styles
Recently I have returned to Silver Spring from a trip to Latvia, traveling with a friend who was born there. My effort to find poetry with mathematics there was stymied by the fact that little Latvian literature has been translated into English.
The Latvian capital, Riga, is a charming city--and its cobblestone streets do not deter women from wearing elegant tall-heeled shoes. The sight of them reminded me of a little poem I wrote a few years ago--a square poem--which comments on this stylish sort of shoe (in which I've never been able to walk).
The Latvian capital, Riga, is a charming city--and its cobblestone streets do not deter women from wearing elegant tall-heeled shoes. The sight of them reminded me of a little poem I wrote a few years ago--a square poem--which comments on this stylish sort of shoe (in which I've never been able to walk).
Labels:
A K Peters,
concrete poetry,
Henry Lok,
Latvia,
mathematics,
Riga,
square poem
Monday, April 19, 2010
Poems with Fibonacci number patterns
In 21st century poetry, there are a variety of non-rhyming forms--and several of them have derived from the Fibonacci numbers.* The Danish poet, Inger Christensen (1935-2009), wrote a book-length poem, alphabet (New Directions, 2000) in which the numbers of lines in stanzas followed the sequence of Fibonacci numbers. "Fibonacci," shown below, by Judith Baumel is a shorter example of this form.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
John Donne's numbers
Perhaps best known for the religious themes in his poetry, John Donne (1572-1631) also wrote many love poems. Although the mathematics here includes only numbers, they are well-used to strengthen both the intensity and the precision of the work.
The Primrose by John Donne
The Primrose by John Donne
Labels:
A K Peters,
John Donne,
love poem,
number,
precision,
Strange Attractors
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Howard Nemerov's mathematical imagery
GETTING IT RIGHT IN LANGUAGE -- Poets and mathematicians alike are concerned with precise statement. Two-time US Poet Laureate Howard Nemerov (1920-1991) characterized poetry in a way that many mathematicians would likewise characterize their subject: POETRY is getting something right in language. Nemerov often used mathematical imagery in his poems. Here is a sample.
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