Teaching Math with Poetry -- Some Activities

      The Journal of Humanistic Mathematics (JHM) offers delightful and broad-ranging connections between mathematics and the arts.  An article that I discovered recently considers ways to use poetry in mathematics classes.  Found in the July 2023 issue, "Teaching Mathematics with Poetry: Some Activities,"  by Alexis E. Langellier (an adjunct professor of Computer Science at Moraine Valley Community College and a graduate teaching assistant at graduate student in Mathematical Sciences at Northern Illinois University).  Working toward a degree in Computer Science, Langellier has this intent:  My goal is to get more women in STEM.

Student-Run Math Poetry Magazine

     Several weeks ago I was surprised and delighted to receive an email from Lillian Liu, a high school student in Westchester, New York and also is a mentee of the Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM) -- with mentor Dr. Annalisa Crannell, emerita professor at Franklin & Marshall College in Pennsylvania and someone I have been privileged to know.

     High school junior Lillian Liu has recently founded The Hyperbolic Review --  her response to noticing that "mathematical poetry isn’t as widely discussed or recognized as it should be. It seemed that many people weren’t even aware of its existence." Because this blog shows my connection with mathy poetry, Liu reached out to me, via email, and sent me this link to Issue 1 of The Hyperbolic Review: https://www.thehyperbolicreview.com/issue-1.

Below I offer the opening stanzas of "Asymptotes" by Devanshee Soni; following this sample will be a link to The Hyperbolic Review -- containing the complete poem and lots of others.

Math Class

      One of my very-special math-poetry connections -- and a frequent sharer of new poems with me -- is Gregory Coxson, Professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the US Naval Academy  in Annapolis, Maryland.  Recently he sent me the poem "Math Class" by Poet Mary Crow -- a poem that deals with the role of women in math.  I offer its opening lines below, followed by a link to the complete poem.  (A good poem to stimulate class discussion of the currently-growing status of women in math.)

     Math Class     by Mary Crow

          Somehow that shriveled arm
          seemed the perfect arm
          for tracing the odd shapes of geometry
          in white on our black chalkboard
          showing us a woman could do
          this unwomanly thing
          and sometimes a girl would let out a giggle
          almost like a pig squeak
          and our teacher would stop, chalk
          in her lifted hand
          and her back would stiffen
          as she turned and glared at us
          then returned
          to tracing out her mysteries
          we girls thought
          meant math is for old maids  .  .  .

               Crow's complete poem is available online here at poets.org.  

Math Women -- and one of them writes Poetry

     One of my recent delights was to be contacted by mathematician Lakshmi Chandrasekaran, a mathematician that is one of the team at Her Maths Story -- a website (found at https://hermathsstory.eu/ ) that publicizes and celebrates the stories of female mathematicians.  A bit of background about the website is shown in the screen-shot below:

Women's History Month -- Celebrate MATH-WOMEN

      A book that I return to again and again for mathy poems is Manifold:  Poetry of Mathematics by E. R. Lutken (Taos Press, 2021).  Lutken therein celebrates a mathematician that I greatly admire, Amalie Emmy Noether (1882-1935).  

     Here are several powerful lines from Lutken's poem "Emmy Noether and the Conservation of Hope":

. . . .                    Her awe of abstract algebra endured.

     Against winds feeling hatred,
     purge of Jews from academics.
     she wrote, thought, taught from home.
     Flames reaching the streets
     forced a journey of tears,
     exile to America/

                         She searched the heart of mathematics
                                    and physics from wherever.

Lutken's complete poem is available at this link;  for and previous postings in this blog of work by E. R. (Emily) Lutken, follow this link.  A varied collection of postings featuring Emmy Noether may be found at this link.

AND, to further celebrate women in math and poetry, explore the labels in the right-hand column of this blog AND use the SEARCH box.

Black History Month Celebrates Math Women

     Black mathematicians and female mathematicians often have not been given the credit they deserve -- and I have been delighted to find this website that features eleven famous African-American mathematicians --  six of which are women.   This website celebrates: 

2.) Fern Hunt (1948-   )     Fern Hunt is best known for her work in applied mathematics and mathematical biology. Throughout her great career, she has been involved with biomathematics, patterns in genetic variation, and chaos theory.   She currently works as an educator and presenter with the aim of encouraging women and minority students to pursue graduate degrees in mathematics and other STEM fields. 

5.) Katherine Johnson (1918-2020)  Katherine Johnson was the main character of the critically acclaimed film "Hidden Figures." Her contributions in the field of orbital mechanics, alongside fellow female African American mathematicians Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson, were critical to the United States’ success in putting astronaut John Glenn into orbit in 1962.  She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in 2015.

Enhanced Understanding of Math through Poetry

If you have TWO ways of saying something,
that enhances your understanding of it!

     For those of you going to the Joint Mathematics Meetings in Seattle (JMM 2025), an important session available to attend is this one, scheduled for the morning of January 9 and sponsored by AWM, the Association for Women in Mathematics:

AWM Special Session on Exploring Mathematics through the Arts and Pedagogy in Creative Settings

And a very special presentation within this session that explores connections between Mathematics and Poetry is "Enhanced Understanding of Mathematics Through Poetry" -- presented by scientist, teacher, and writer Emily R. Lutken.  Lutken's presentation is scheduled for the morning of Thursday, January 9 -- here is a link to the abstract and scheduling details for that event.  Here is one of the mathy poems that will be part of Lutken's presentation:

Math Doors are Open Now . . .

     One of the important and wonderful organizations to which I belong is the Association for Women in Mathematics  --  and each year AWM conducts an essay contest -- an opportunity for students to interview a math-woman and write about it.  Three categories of entries are open -- for middle school, high school, and college students,  Essays are being accepted now and until February 1, 2025.  More information is available here.   

     The Association for Women in Mathematics was established in 1971 -- after I had completed my school years as a lonely math-girl.  I celebrate the changes that bring women to equality in mathematics -- but sometimes also remember the past; the poem below is a comment on my high school and college days.

What Math Teachers Do

     They ignore me.  I
     raise my hand -- wave it
     to ask questions, to
     offer answers -- but
     they call on the boys.

A 5x5 syllable-square of protest, from JoAnne Growney

Ada Lovelace Day -- this year October 8

      The second Tuesday in October has been selected as Ada Lovelace Day -- a time for celebrating that pioneering woman and all women in STEM.

     Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace, better known as Ada Lovelace  (December 10, 1815–November 27, 1852) -- and daughter of the poet Lord Byron -- is celebrated as the world’s first computer programmer, the first person to combine the mathematical capabilities of computational machines with the poetic possibilities of symbolic logic (applied with clever imagination).  (Many more biographical details  may be found at this link.)  And here is a link to an interesting article by Johns Hopkins voice Meghana Ravi entitled "Ada Lovelace found poetry in computer algorithms."

     I have posted poetry about Ada Lovelace several times in this blog; here is a link to those past postings.  The following poetic words -- by Ada Lovelace  -- concerning translation of mathematical principles into practical forms -- were first posted back in September of 2015. 

Prison Math and Poetry Projects

     One of the good things that is happening is that poets and math people -- and others -- are investing time and funds in projects to help incarcerated individuals find crime-free activities for their present and future lives.  Here is a link to information about a Prison Math Project and this link leads to information about Prison Poetry Workshops.  A wonderful variety of activities have been taking place!

     Below I offer the opening lines of a poem that counts prisoners and tells of the racial and other injustices that they suffer-- a poem by prisoner, Korean war veteran, and poet Ethridge Knight (1931-1991).  (Knight's complete poem may be found here  -- along with many more -- at the Poetry Foundation website.)

A Fable      by Etheridge Knight

Once upon a today and yesterday and nevermore there were 7 men and women all locked / up in prison cells. Now these 7 men and women were innocent of any crimes; they were in prison because their skins were black. Day after day, the prisoners paced their cells, pining for their freedom. And the non-black jailers would laugh at the prisoners and beat them with sticks and throw their food on the floor. Finally, prisoner #1 said, “I will educate myself and emulate the non-colored people. That is the way to freedom—c’mon, you guys, and follow me.” “Hell, no,” said prisoner #2. “The only way to get free is . . . 

Knight's complete poem is available here.

Previous blog postings telling of math-poetry opportunities for incarcerated persons may be found here at this link.

Black Momma Math

      I have signed up for a Google email service, "Google Alert" which sends to my g-mail address links to items found in Google searching that contain the words "poetry" and "mathematics".  Recently such an email alerted me to a sharing by a psychiatrist who writes poetry about his medical experiences.

     Richard Berlin, MD, has been writing a poem about his experience of being a doctor every month for the past 26 years in Psychiatric Times in a column called “Poetry of the Times.” He is instructor in psychiatry, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts. His latest book is Tender Fences.  At this link, he shared the poem "Black Momma Math",  by Kimberly Jae who is an award-winning poet, ranked among the top 30 slam poets in the world in 2018.  The poem is also available here at the Poetry Foundation website.   I offer its opening stanzas below.

Black Momma Math      by Kimberly Jae    

Mathematicians that aren't white men . . .

          Who
          can do
          mathematics?
          What about girls and women
          and people of color?
          We need to open
          our eyes and
          our doors! 

      Even though mathematicians are frequently exploring new ideas and patterns of thought, minds often have been closed against recognizing math skills in varied groups of people.  It has taken lots of effort to get math doors opened to women, to people of color.  Here are some informative and inspiring videos:

Journeys of Black Mathematicians (A documentary project by George Csicsery)

Meet a Mathematician:  Dr. Gizem Karaali

Meet a Mathematician:  Dr. Lisa Fauci 

Using POETRY as an aid in learning MATHEMATICS

     "Math problems take on new meaning in this class that combines rhymes and verse with math instruction."

     The above quotation comes from the website The Conversation, from a series entitled Uncommon Courses -- a series that highlights unconventional approaches to teaching.  In an article entitled "Rhyme and reason -- why a university professor uses poetry to teach math," Ricardo Martinez -- who teaches mathematics education at Penn State University --  tells how math problems take on new meaning in a class that combines rhymes and verse with math instruction. 

 As he tells about the course, Martinez explains:

I have always enjoyed writing poetry. As a high school mathematics teacher, I recall telling my students that everything is and can be connected to math, even creative writing. Then, as a graduate student, I read about people using “I am” poem templates for young people to express who they are through a series of “I am” statements, and I thought to myself, where is the “I am” math poem template? So I created one. 

Celebrating Women who write Mathy Poems

       Now in March -- in Women's History Month -- many writers are taking a bit of extra time to explore the history and achievements of women.  It was my delight to find a March 6 posting here on the Poetry Blogging Network with a list of celebrated women in poetry that includes several writers of mathy poems.  Of the ten poets listed, the following five have been included in this blog -- in earlier postings.  For each, I include a mathy sample and the poet's name is linked to earlier postings that include their work.

     Adrienne Rich   from Planetarium 

             a woman      ‘in the snow     
             among the Clocks and instruments              
             or measuring the ground with poles  

            in her 98 years to discover    
            8 comets

Mathematician, Poet -- Blind to the worth of Women

     As we study mathematics and learn of outstanding mathematicians, many of us do not also learn which of those mathematicians also were poets.  A posting that I found recently in Marian Christie's blog, Poetry and Mathematics, features poetry by  Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell (1831-39).

     Maxwell's verse also is featured in the math-poetry anthology, Strange Attractors:  Poems of Love and Mathematics (A.K Peters, Ltd., 2008);  preview available here at amazon.com.

     Below I offer a stanza from a Maxwell poem (posted in this blog back in December, 2015) -- a stanza that shows the long-mistaken attitude that has existed about inferior abilities of math-women: 

Women in Math -- Don't Hide Them!!

     In the days and years since my schooling, the numbers of math-women have increased and their public recognition also has increased.  But not enough!  This list of 18 remarkable women in STEM includes only one math-woman  AND. here are several book-seller links to explore: 

Headstrong: 52 Women Who Changed Science-and the World
30 Remarkable Women in Science and Math
The First Woman in Space: Valentina Tereshkova
20 Greatest Mathematicians: Masters of Mathematics from the Past, Present, Future

     A very important math-influence in my life was my high school math teacher for my junior and senior years, Laura Church.  Today, exploring the internet, searching for her name, I found only this memorial statement and, although it tells of her teaching at Indiana Joint High School, it does not mention that her teaching-subject was math.  Here is a stanza that celebrates her:  

Stories of Women and Girls in Science

The website for Agnes Scott College has a wonderful collection of biographies of math women  -- and today I focus particularly on the story of mathematician Marie-Sophie Germain (1776-1831).   I quote below a few words about Germain:

Sophie began teaching herself mathematics using the books in her father's library. Her parents felt that her interest was inappropriate for a female (the common belief of the middle-class in the 19th century) and did all that they could to discourage her.  

Related to the idea expressed in this quote is a thoughtful poem about Germain by Colorado poet Jessy Randall;  the poem is part of Randall's very special collection Mathematics for Ladies, Goldsmiths Press, 2022 and I offer it below:

Write about a MATH-WOMAN -- and WIN!

     Years ago -- when I was the only woman in the Bloomsburg University mathematics department --  I wrote a poem, "My Dance is Mathematics," about the mathematician Emmy Noether -- and it contained the following lines:

               If a woman's dance is mathematics,
               She dances alone.

But things are changing!  Founded in 1971, AWM (Association for Women in Mathematics) has been actively celebrating the lives of female mathematicians  -- and one of AWM's current and far-reaching activities is a STUDENT ESSAY CONTEST for which students -- in middle-school, high-school, and college categories -- are invited to interview a female mathematician and write about her.  The essay-submission period is December 1, 2023 - February 1, 2024.  Questions may be directed to AWM Essay Contest Organizer, Dr. Johanna Franklin (johanna.n.franklin@hofstra.edu). 

Celebrate Ada Lovelace -- and all women in STEM

     The second Tuesday in October -- this year, Tuesday, October 10 -- is Ada Lovelace Day..  Details of the celebration planned by The Royal Institution of Science are available here at this link.  A careful biography of this pioneering female mathematician -- Ada Lovelace (1815-1852) -- is available here.

"Ada Lovelace Day (ALD) is an international celebration of the achievements of women in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM). It aims to increase the profile of women in STEM and, in doing so, create new role models who will encourage more girls into STEM careers and support women already working in STEM."  Quote from https://findingada.com/.

Although her father, poet Lord Byron, had no interest in mathematics, Ada's mother, Lady Byron, was supportive as was astronomer-mathematician Mary Somerville (1780-1872) -- who became a longtime friend and math-encourager. (Lots more details of Lovelace's math-life are available here at the St Andrews Math-History website and her pioneering work with the Analytical Engine is featured here.)

      Below is a poem by Twitter poet Brian Bilston (@brian_bilston) that celebrates Ada Lovelace.

Chat GPT writes about Emmy Noether

       Learning about AI and exploring its possibilities has been an interesting recent activity for me.  One of my own favorite math-related poems is a poem I wrote many years ago about mathematician Emmy Noether -- and that poem, "My Dance is Mathematics," is available here in this blog at this link.  I offer below a poem from ChatGPT;  my instructions were:  write a poem about Emmy Noether -- and I got this:

     In realms of math where brilliance takes its flight,
     There dwells a star whose radiance shines so bright,
     Emmy Noether, a name of boundless grace,
     A mathematician whose legacy we embrace.

     Born in Erlangen, a spark in her eyes,
     She defied the norms, reached for the skies,
     In a time when women faced a daunting door,
     She pushed it open, forevermore.