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How to Navigate Our Universe by Mary Soon LeeMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Combining deep thought with deep feeling, this generously sized collection of speculative verse celebrates space science and all those who have made it possible. Mary Soon Lee has the knack of making complex astronomical ideas not only accessible, but lyrical. History enthusiasts will also find many tributes to pioneers and discoverers -- a notable number of them female -- past and present.
Presented in mostly short, tightly constructed stanzas, these poems have a formal feel while retaining a touch of lightness. Lee is passionate about her topics, and tireless in her ability to ring changes on them. Lucid but never shallow, entertaining but intellectually demanding (I found myself turning to Wikipedia frequently during my reading!) , this collection is highly recommended for all spec poetry lovers -- and hard science folks as well.
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On this date in 1972 . . .
Dec. 14th, 2022 05:09 pmTaurus -- Littrow
unfilled footprints
fifty years deep
-- Ann K. Schwader
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_17
unfilled footprints
fifty years deep
-- Ann K. Schwader
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_17
Thirty-five years & one O-ring on . . .
Jan. 28th, 2021 04:22 pmchallenge accepted
the silence of seven
still echoes
-- Ann K. Schwader
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Challenger_disaster
the silence of seven
still echoes
-- Ann K. Schwader
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Challenger_disaster
Perseverance
for one clear blue moment
we are go
-- Ann K. Schwader 7/30/20
for one clear blue moment
we are go
-- Ann K. Schwader 7/30/20
On this date in 1963 . . .
Jun. 16th, 2020 01:30 pmcall sign Chaika
first and highest-flying
she gull
-- Ann K. Schwader
https://tinyurl.com/ydaeperp
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentina_Tereshkova#Vostok_6
first and highest-flying
she gull
-- Ann K. Schwader
https://tinyurl.com/ydaeperp
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentina_Tereshkova#Vostok_6
fifty years on
one giant step waiting
womankind
-- Ann K. Schwader
lone witness
Collins in the capsule
for us all
-- Ann K. Schwader
one giant step waiting
womankind
-- Ann K. Schwader
lone witness
Collins in the capsule
for us all
-- Ann K. Schwader
another Mars casualty . . . .
Feb. 13th, 2019 04:20 pmlost opportunity
once so sunlit
dust to dust
-- Ann K. Schwader
http://my.earthlink.net/channel/news/article/us?guid=20190212/ed118493-43e4-436a-9c48-c8060c528541
once so sunlit
dust to dust
-- Ann K. Schwader
http://my.earthlink.net/channel/news/article/us?guid=20190212/ed118493-43e4-436a-9c48-c8060c528541
good news we can all agree on . . .
Nov. 26th, 2018 04:05 pmInSight touchdown
a tremor through
two worlds
-- Ann K. Schwader
http://my.earthlink.net/channel/news/article/us?guid=20181126/1aa09e84-7276-45ab-9312-8695741ecba2
a tremor through
two worlds
-- Ann K. Schwader
http://my.earthlink.net/channel/news/article/us?guid=20181126/1aa09e84-7276-45ab-9312-8695741ecba2
49 years ago today . . .
Jul. 20th, 2018 03:39 pmwith room
to spare now
moon dust footprints
-- Ann K. Schwader
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_11
to spare now
moon dust footprints
-- Ann K. Schwader
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_11
It's International Speculative Poetry Day
Nov. 3rd, 2017 11:03 amYes, it's a real -- though very new -- thing, thanks to the Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association, and officially proclaimed by the Governor of Minnesota. Find out more here:
https://specpo.wordpress.com/2017/11/02/november-3rd-is-international-speculative-poetry-day/
November 3rd was selected to honor the 60th anniversary of space dog Laika's historic mission aboard Sputnik 2. She was (thank you, Wikipedia) the first animal to orbit our planet -- and also the first Terran female in space:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laika
In honor of International Speculative Poetry Day, the SFPA has put up a special page of poems (and one lovely artwork) remembering Laika. One of them is mine.
https://specpo.wordpress.com/2017/11/03/2017-international-speculative-poetry-day-remembering-laika/
Please go read, enjoy, & remember.
https://specpo.wordpress.com/2017/11/02/november-3rd-is-international-speculative-poetry-day/
November 3rd was selected to honor the 60th anniversary of space dog Laika's historic mission aboard Sputnik 2. She was (thank you, Wikipedia) the first animal to orbit our planet -- and also the first Terran female in space:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laika
In honor of International Speculative Poetry Day, the SFPA has put up a special page of poems (and one lovely artwork) remembering Laika. One of them is mine.
https://specpo.wordpress.com/2017/11/03/2017-international-speculative-poetry-day-remembering-laika/
Please go read, enjoy, & remember.
Planet 9: join the search!
Mar. 14th, 2017 03:55 pmWant to help find Planet 9? (No, it's not Pluto. Nor, alas, Yuggoth.)
According to several sources of space news -- like Smithsonian.com, Space.com, & EarthSky -- NASA and the University of California, Berkeley are looking for a few good citizen scientists to check through images from WISE, NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer. Apparently, there are still things the human eye does better than a computer program -- and noticing moving bright spots is one of them.
The project is called Backyard Worlds: Planet 9. To learn more, or join in the search, check here.
Good luck! I haven't joined yet, but I'm seriously considering it. After all, this is pretty much how Pluto got discovered by Clyde Tombaugh back in 1930.
According to several sources of space news -- like Smithsonian.com, Space.com, & EarthSky -- NASA and the University of California, Berkeley are looking for a few good citizen scientists to check through images from WISE, NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer. Apparently, there are still things the human eye does better than a computer program -- and noticing moving bright spots is one of them.
The project is called Backyard Worlds: Planet 9. To learn more, or join in the search, check here.
Good luck! I haven't joined yet, but I'm seriously considering it. After all, this is pretty much how Pluto got discovered by Clyde Tombaugh back in 1930.
last footprints
Jan. 17th, 2017 03:06 pmdust
of a waning moon
last footprints
-- Ann K. Schwader
Gene Cernan, last astronaut on the moon, is gone at 82
http://wapo.st/2jpCsXf
of a waning moon
last footprints
-- Ann K. Schwader
Gene Cernan, last astronaut on the moon, is gone at 82
http://wapo.st/2jpCsXf
even through time’s vacuum moonsteps
---- Ann K. Schwader
(for the 47th anniversary of Armstrong's footsteps)
Spectral Realms #4 available soon!
Feb. 5th, 2016 03:21 pmEdited by S.T. Joshi, this twice-yearly journal always offers a bumper crop of dark poetry & poets, but this time around it’s massive: 144 pages! Delivered in a nicely produced trade paperback format, it’s less a magazine than a permanent addition to any weird lit lover’s collection. Good for your dark-minded Valentine, too!
For the full TOC and ordering details, check here. The journal ships free within the USA, & free worldwide with any other qualifying purchase from the press.
[Truth in LiveJournaling: yes, I do have two poems in this issue. One is a very up-to-date bit of cosmic horror based on the discoveries of New Horizons.]
Thirty years ago today . . .
Jan. 28th, 2016 12:46 pmnever
so clear again
Canaveral sky
-- Ann K. Schwader
(a memorial article from The Washington Post is here)
Want a boarding pass for Mars?
Sep. 8th, 2015 12:55 pmI just got a boarding pass for Mars.
Nope, not the trip – just the boarding pass, for NASA’s InSight lander due to launch in March 2016. All names submitted & approved will be inscribed on a chip which actually is headed to Mars with the lander.
It’s all free, but unfortunately I just found out about this -- & today is the last day to register. If you’re a fellow Mars-o-phile & reading this before 11:59 PM ET, you can go here for all the information.
See you – or your name, at least – on Mars!
Nope, not the trip – just the boarding pass, for NASA’s InSight lander due to launch in March 2016. All names submitted & approved will be inscribed on a chip which actually is headed to Mars with the lander.
It’s all free, but unfortunately I just found out about this -- & today is the last day to register. If you’re a fellow Mars-o-phile & reading this before 11:59 PM ET, you can go here for all the information.
See you – or your name, at least – on Mars!
