Fun facts about rita dove7/22/2023 A quadratic equation, for example, can be understood in terms of its algebraic expression, perhaps y=x 2+3x-7, or in terms of its graph, a parabola. Mathematics and poetry, Growney says, are both “formats that can convey multiple meanings.” In mathematics, a single object or idea might take different forms. She took poetry classes at a nearby college when she could, discovered the math poetry anthology Against Infinity while doing a sabbatical project about mathematics and the arts, and started to see her feelings about mathematics echoed in poetry. ![]() During her career as a math professor, her interest in writing continued. “I read Little Women as a girl, and maybe it was partly the name connection, but I thought that I wanted to be a writer like Jo.” She was also good at math, though, and ended up with a scholarship to study it in college. from “Fibonacci Poems” by Athena Kildegaard, published in Rare Momentum ![]() Growney, a retired math professor who sometimes teaches writing workshops, says a limited form like the Fib can help beginning poets who are having trouble starting.Įnfold, unfold, a working through and against, again. In a Fib poem, the first line has one syllable, the second one syllable, the third two, the fourth three, and so on. The Fibonacci sequence starts 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, and so on each term (after the first two) is the sum of the two terms before it. One such form is the “ Fib ,” a type of poem based on the Fibonacci sequence in math. But she is also interested in newer forms, often inspired by the constrained writing exercises of the French Oulipo group, which was founded by mathematicians and poets. Of course, sonnets and haiku are famous for employing strict counts on lines and syllables. Growney has also gotten interested in the mathematics of poetic forms and poetic forms that employ mathematics. Growney casts a wide net on her blog, which begins with the words: " Mathematical language can heighten the imagery of a poem mathematical structure can deepen its effect." Some poems she features, like “Geometry," use mathematical themes or images some are by mathematicians or math students. from “In Praise of Fractals” by Emily Grosholz Nature, loosening her hair, exhibits patterns Nor mountains cones, nor Ponderosa pines īark is not smooth and where the land and sea Or “In Praise of Fractals” by Emily Grosholz, published in The Stars of Earth: New and Selected Poems (2017, Word Galaxy Press): The windows jerk free to hover near the ceiling, The blog includes a broad range of poems with mathematical themes or built using mathematical rules. ![]() If the words “math” and “poetry” don’t intuitively make sense to you as a pair, poet and mathematician JoAnne Growney’s blog Intersections-Poetry with Mathematics is a perfect place to start expanding your math-poetic horizons. April is both National Poetry Month and Mathematics and Statistics Awareness Month, so a few years ago science writer Stephen Ornes dubbed it Math Poetry Month.
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