Outer Space: 100 Poems

Across time and cultures, poets and astronomers have often asked the same questions about outer space, and about ourselves.

Midge Goldberg (Edited by)

9781009203609, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 29 September 2022

196 pages
20.5 x 13.5 x 1.4 cm, 0.33 kg

'I really enjoyed how the poems are laid out in a timeline fashion and, as a result, experiencing how a variety of poets have approached different space themes across time. This is a wonderful way to experience the lure of the cosmos for humanity and our love of space.' Sian Proctor, astronaut

Poets and astronomers often ask the same questions. Where did we come from? Why are we here? Where are we going? Throughout human history, poetry has provided stories about what people observe in the sky. Stars, planets, comets, the moon, and space travel are used as metaphors for our feelings of love, loneliness, adventurousness, and awe. This anthology includes poets, astronomers, and scientists from the 12th century BCE to today, from all around the world. Sappho, Du Fu, Hafez, and Shakespeare are joined by Gwyneth Lewis's space requiem, Tracy K. Smith on the Hubble telescope, and Charles Simic, whose poem accompanied a NASA mission. Astronomers Tycho Brahe and Edmund Halley accompany modern scientists including Rebecca Elson, Alice Gorman on the first woman in space, and Yun Wang's space journal on travel to Andromeda. This collection reaches across time and cultures to illuminate how we think about outer space, and ourselves.

Introduction
Poems 1-100
Acknowledgements
Biographies.

Subject Areas: Astronomy, space & time [PG], Literary reference works [DSR], Literary studies: poetry & poets [DSC]