Science & Poetry: Take Four

Three items weaving together science and poetry:

1) An interview with poet Sarah Henning at The Rappahannock Review. Sarah started her college career as a Genetics major, and is currently a doctoral student in English and Creative Writing at the University of South Dakota. In this interview she discusses how she uses animal physiology, astrophysics, and neurochemistry in her poetry.

2) Slipstream is currently reading for Issue #35, which will be published in 2015. They seek poetry that explores the theme "elements." Creative interpretations are welcome. Submit up to five (5) poems in one document file only. They also are seeking artwork for the issue. Refer to their submission guidelines on their web site (www.slipstreampress.org). Deadline May 1st.

3) Incessant Pipe is sponsoring a poetry contest with the theme of Venus. It will be judged by Dara Wier. No entrance fee, and the winner receives $250. Deadline April 15th.

4) Performance poet Harry Baker offers a poem about prime numbers for TedTalks. 

Phil Hansen: Embrace the Shake

All creative people need to see this TED video by Phil Hansen called "Embrace the Shake." It's about how powerful limitations can be in inspiriting art and creativity. You know this already, but see the heights and depths that Hansen has taken it to. I'm looking differently at my limitations right now...

The Difference Between Simile and Metaphor

"Similes make you think. Metaphors let you feel things."

That's one line from the short video, "The Art of the Metaphor" by Jane Hirshfield.

It's from TedEd, and I heard about it from Diane Lockward's montly newsletter, which I've touted many times in posts before. If you need to know how to sign up for it, put her name in my search bar, or leave a comment and I'll find the newsletter link for you.

Back to the video: it's is a wonderful teaching tool for the uninitiated, and a sweet reminder for the rest of us about the power of simile and metaphor.

Science Pods

Stephen King tells would-be writers to read widely, read everything. Kay Ryan reads philosophy to get started writing. Reading outside of one's genre can be as important as reading within it (and I do believe that reading poetry is an extremely important part of writing poetry, but so is reading other stuff).

I've found that reading popular science helps me write poems. It provides me with images and vocabulary, and with just plain wonder that stimulates creativity.

In the past couple of years, I've started listening to science podcasts in addition to my reading regimen. Reading is still better, but since I walk for a couple of hours a day, this is a way to make the time productive and enjoyable. And since I miss hearing the English of native speakers at an adult level, podcasts also comfort me.

So today, I want to share some of my favorite science podcasts. (All of these are available in iTunes, by the way, as well as at their links.)

1) My absolute favorite is Radiolab, but I've blogged about it already, so I will just link to my old post and leave it at that for now. Sadly new episodes come out only twice a month.

2) Another good one is Science Friday with Ira Flatow. For two hours every Friday, Ira Flatow podcasts about diverse topics in science and technology, interviewing all the people in the know regarding timely science topics. For example, this week's podcast has Ira discussing World Toilet Day and interviewing engineers about the grants being given for revolutionary toilet designs that might bring the technology to the 1/3 of the earth's inhabitants without flush toilets or healthy sanitation. Flatow also learns the secrets of keeping the floats afloat in the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade by sending his video editor to interview the "balloonatics". He also investigates the costs of embryonic stem cell research. And more!

And here's a hint. If instead of subscribing to the Science Friday podcast, you instead subscribe to the NPR Topics: Science podcast, you will get all science-related podcasts aired by NPR sent to you, including Science Friday in individual story units instead of a 2-hour block, so you can skip ones you aren't interested in.

3) Stuff You Should Know podcast, hosted by Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant, covers topics in science and any other field that suits the fancy of the hosts. Diverse subjects covered in the past include: the chemistry of Silly Putty, sweating colored sweat, the physics of roller coasters, how fossils are formed, etc. This podcast is twice a week, but as I said, while not all topics covered are science-related, they are all more or less fascinating.

4) NPR's Hmmm.....Krulwich on Science is one of my favorite science podcasts, but it comes out too infrequently, not even once a month and not on any schedule I can fathom. It's an insightful look into the history of science as well as science stories that cause you to marvel (this being Krulwich's specialty), and I envy you because you can now enjoy the few in the archives for your first time. Happily, Krulwich's blog, Krulwich Wonders, comes out more regularly.

5) Story Collider is a cross between The Moth and a conversation with your chemistry lab partner. It's people telling stories about how science has affected their lives, and many of the stories are hilarious, especially to scientists and PhD program dropouts. This is a fun podcast, with some talented storytelling, and some less so, but it's worth wading through them all to find the absolute gems.

6) Finally, TED Talks, which you undoubtedly already know about. TED stands for technology, entertainment, and design, so you will hear plenty of science-related pieces if you listen. Pretty much everything discussed at TED is interesting, science-based or not.

So, enjoy!

100 Artists in 1

Watch how  artist Shea Hembrey tested the limits of creativity when he set out in two years to put together a biennial show of 100 artists worldwide, but decided in the interests of logistics to invent the artists and make all the works himself. This amusing Ted Talk show what flexibility and technique an artist can achieve when pushing himself to explore so many different worldviews. Enjoy.

Google Art Project

Here's something you have to see to believe. Google has teamed up with 17 major art museums worldwide, including the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, the MoMA in New York, London's Tate Gallery and more, to offer Google Art Project.

At Googleartproject.com, you can virtually walk around museums browsing or hop from floor to floor or room to room using the floor plans, or you can search for paintings or artists you are interested in. Once you select a work of art, you can zoom in to see details, even to examine brush strokes. Information on each painting and painter, and even Youtube links for living artists, are included.

Here's a brief video explanation of how to use the site.

And here's the very charming Amit Sood, one of the developers of the project, giving a TED Talk and demo showing some of the most interesting and flexible features of the project. This is well worth watching. Sood shows details of a few of his favorite paintings, including Pieter Bruegel's The Harvesters, recorded in 10 billion pixels. Let Sood show you what you can view with that level of detail available to you. He also shows you how you can make your own collection of artworks based on your favorites worldwide, and then share them with family and friends via social media.

Art lovers and casual browsers alike, enjoy!