by Maria Popova
First published 2024
Maria Popova explores how poetry and science both serve as tools for understanding and loving our world more completely. She presents fifteen brief essays that span topics from dark matter's enigma and pi's endless digits to how trees survive and octopuses think. Popova weaves together tales of scientific exploration with intimate portraits of the researchers behind the discoveries. She highlights many women scientists whose contributions have been overlooked. Each essay connects with a poem that mirrors its theme, featuring work by Emily Dickinson, W. H. Auden, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Maya Angelou, Diane Ackerman, and Tracy K. Smith. Artist Ofra Amit provides illustrations throughout. Popova argues that both scientific inquiry and poetic expression spring from the same human drive to find truth and meaning. The book aims to awaken readers to a world filled with wonder.
Genres: art, essays, poetry, non-fiction, biography-memoir, academic
Vibes: emotional, intimate, lyrical, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, intimate-portraits, weaving-together
96 pages · Kindle Edition · Storey Publishing, LLC