Last week, NPR's program "Science Friday" anticipated National Poetry Month and offered a list of poems with links to science. One of these is "Algorhyme" by Radia Perlman --
a pioneer in computer science
and while she worked
her mind gave her a poem . . .
from Algorhyme by Radia Perlman
I think that I shall never see
A graph more lovely than a tree.
A tree whose crucial property
Is loop-free connectivity.
. . .
Perlman's complete poem is available here. Another of the poetry suggestions made by Science Friday is "Planetarium" by Adrienne Rich -- a poem that honors astronomer Caroline Herschel (1750-1848) and posted here in this blog.
Showing posts with label Adrienne Rich. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Adrienne Rich. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 2, 2019
Friday, October 5, 2018
Line and design -- poetry by Adrienne Rich
A poem I first read during my high school years -- and have loved ever since -- is "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers" by Adrienne Rich (1929-2012). Found along with that poem in Collected Early Poems 1950-1970 (W W Norton, 1994) is another poem by Rich that I also like a lot -- and offer below -- this one containing a bit of mathematics and a lot to reflect on . . .
Boundary by Adrienne Rich
What has happened here will do
To bite the living world in two,
Half for me and half for you.
Here at last I fix a line
Severing the world’s design
Too small to hold both yours and mine.
There’s enormity in a hair
Enough to lead men not to share
Narrow confines of a sphere
But put an ocean or a fence
Between two opposite intents.
A hair would span the difference.
Boundary by Adrienne Rich
What has happened here will do
To bite the living world in two,
Half for me and half for you.
Here at last I fix a line
Severing the world’s design
Too small to hold both yours and mine.
There’s enormity in a hair
Enough to lead men not to share
Narrow confines of a sphere
But put an ocean or a fence
Between two opposite intents.
A hair would span the difference.
Sunday, March 30, 2014
Split This Rock 2014 was great!
Monday, September 3, 2012
An instrument in the shape of a woman
Celebrating math-women with poetry is a project to
which I devoted several postings earlier this summer -- see, for
example, these June and July
entries. Moreover, I am looking for more such poems to post. Please
contact me (e-mail address is at the bottom of this blog-site) with poems about math-women that you have written or found.
Mathematician-astronomer Caroline Herschel (1750-1848) appeared in a poem by Siv Cedering on 21 July, 2012 and here she is again, this time celebrated by Adrienne Rich (1929-2012).
Mathematician-astronomer Caroline Herschel (1750-1848) appeared in a poem by Siv Cedering on 21 July, 2012 and here she is again, this time celebrated by Adrienne Rich (1929-2012).
Labels:
Adrienne Rich,
astronomer,
Caroline Herschel,
discover,
instrument,
math-women,
mathematician,
monster,
moon,
planetarium,
poem,
woman,
women
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Celebrate Emmy Noether
On 23 March 1882 mathematician Emmy Noether (pronounced NER-ter) was born. On 23 March 2010 I posted the first entry in this blog -- an entry that included a poem, "My Dance Is Mathematics," I wrote to honor Emmy Noether; its final stanza is offered below. On 27 March 2012, The New York Times published an article that features Noether -- "The Mighty Mathematician You've Never Heard Of."
Take time today to learn about and to celebrate this not-well-enough-known and immensely talented mathematician!
Today, history books proclaim that Noether
is the greatest mathematician
her sex has produced. They say she was good
for a woman.
I cannot post today without mentioning my sadness from learning of yesterday's passing of Adrienne Rich, a favorite poet who spoke eloquently and fearlessly of the struggles of women to be and to create. I am today in San Francisco visiting a daughter and her family and here, from the San Francisco Chronicle, is a celebration of Rich's life, including the text of the poem of hers that I love most, "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers."
Take time today to learn about and to celebrate this not-well-enough-known and immensely talented mathematician!
Today, history books proclaim that Noether
is the greatest mathematician
her sex has produced. They say she was good
for a woman.
I cannot post today without mentioning my sadness from learning of yesterday's passing of Adrienne Rich, a favorite poet who spoke eloquently and fearlessly of the struggles of women to be and to create. I am today in San Francisco visiting a daughter and her family and here, from the San Francisco Chronicle, is a celebration of Rich's life, including the text of the poem of hers that I love most, "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers."
Sunday, October 30, 2011
What can 7 objects say? Or 100?
A friend, a high school art teacher, had one of her students paint a portrait of her -- not of her bodily self but a still life of the seven possessions that she felt best defined her. Since that time, more than seven years ago, I have been trying to decide what my seven objects would be. How might I portray me?
An article in today's NY Times, "Stuff that Defines Us," reminded me that I have neglected that project. The article tells of the British Museum's ambitious and fascinating project to choose 100 objects from their collection to summarize the history of the world.
An article in today's NY Times, "Stuff that Defines Us," reminded me that I have neglected that project. The article tells of the British Museum's ambitious and fascinating project to choose 100 objects from their collection to summarize the history of the world.
Labels:
Adrienne Rich,
Cento,
define,
Dylan Thomas,
E E Cummings,
mathematician,
Muriel Rukeyser,
poet,
seven,
Theodore Roethke
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