As you know*, we like to mix our science and our poetry. Mike has generously loaned this Philistine the reins to the Sunday Science Poem franchise, which I promptly moved to Tuesday; but I had to move it to Tuesday because I don’t want you to miss out.
CosmoQuest is offering an online course (via Google+ Hangouts) looking at the intersection of astronomy and poetry:
Astronomy has played a role in human culture for thousands of years and appears in literature from every era. We can see not only the influence of the heavens on our writings, but also the influence of language itself on our conception of astronomy. Heralding the dawn of the International Year of Light in 2015, join us now to explore how light from the stars has been important to humans for millennia. We will begin with Gilgamesh and Homer, and continue through Shakespeare, Robert Frost, Maya Angelou, and into contemporary music and literature. Along the way, we will also examine how the structure of language has influenced the perception of astronomical phenomena. – CosmoQuest Academy
The classes start on Monday, 17 November 2014 at 9PM (ET). Sign-ups (cost $99) are open until Monday, but there are only 8 spots left.
HT: Matthew Francis
*Frankly, I’m tired of coddling you newbies**.
**Have we decided on a sarcasm font***?
***I imagine all those exchanges are constantly derailed by people writing, “I think this one really works” in a proposed font, and then wondering, “Do they really like it or are they being sarcastic****?”
****…which may actually be a sign that it is working.
The Finch and Pea 