Whipple Event: ‘A Herschel Trio’ Evening February 8, 2010

Michael Hoskin introducing the Herschel history.

The Herschel evening at the Whipple Museum was an enormous success, with over fifty guests in attendance. This included some of William and Caroline’s descendants: the current head of the Herschel household, John Herschel, and his son (named William,) and one of his daughters, whose name I’m afraid I didn’t catch, but I would not be surprised if it was Caroline or Mary. So, as Melanie keenly put it, our ‘Herschel Trio’ event had a ‘Herschel trio’ in the audience!   

One of the two groups of musicians warming up for the concerto.

The renowned Herschel scholar, Michael Hoskin, started off the evening with an engaging overview of William and Caroline’s work, explaining why he finds William Herschel the most impressive astronomer, possibly ever, for making groundbreaking progress in all three traditional strands of astronomy–observational astronomy, instrument building (namely telescopes,) and theoretical astronomy.   

An additional honour to having Professor Hoskin speak at the Whipple is his status as the first Director of the Department of the History and Philosophy of Science, and he reminisced on teaching lectures in the very room we were sitting in, now the Museum’s main gallery. Professor Hoskin’s penultimate book on the Herschel family is due out in 2011.   

Derek, who runs the Whipple’s Science of Musical Sound activities, introduced the musicians and spoke on William as a composer. The first piece played was composed by William at the age of only 21. 

 It was a very special treat for us all to hear the compositions played, which is very rare indeed. The Herschel family were especially pleased to hear the music, and the current William Herschel was very encouraging to hear about my work-in-progress, kindly saying that I’m ‘filling in the gaps with creativity.’ I am certainly trying to do so!

Reading from 'Caroline' manuscript.

The fifty-strong audience then relaxed for an Oboe Concerto, drifting back to the days when socialites flocked to Bath’s Octagon Chapel, where William played and conducted, and Caroline sang. These were the days when King George’s madness began to run rampant, and little Jane Austen frolicked along the limestone cobbles of the city. 

Next, I read excerpts from my novel-in-progress, Caroline. One scene has William and Caroline strolling with their friend towards the recently designed Crescent, one of the poshest areas of Bath, where they find some schoolchildren playing at making a ‘living orrery’ in a field. William tries to correct their orbits and meteoric routes, to no avail. Another scene has Caroline swept away in the overwhelmingly expensive social activities in London with the rich widow, Mrs. Celia Colebrook. 

Derek Scurll introducing the music.

 Two trio sonatas followed, and then guests had time to look at some of the museum collections in the main gallery, speak with the participants, and leave their comments and compliments regarding the evening.
Thank you to Derek and Melanie for arranging such an excellent event, and to Melanie for being our photographer! 

 

A Herschel Trio January 26, 2010

A Herschel Trio: Astronomy, Biography and Music

One of Caroline's dresses in the Herschel House, Bath. She was tiny!

On Wednesday February 3rd the Whipple Museum will hold a special concert to celebrate the works of astronomer and musician William Herschel, and his sister, astronomer and singer Caroline Herschel. 6-9pm. Free.

It will feature performances of William Herschel’s oboe concerto in Eb and two trio sonatas for harpsichord and strings, as well as an introductory talk from Herschel scholar Michael Hoskin and a reading from Kelley Swain’s new novel-in-progress about Caroline Herschel.

All are welcome!

Whipple Museun, Wednesday February 3rd 2010, 6-9pm
Tickets are free but must be reserved via HPS reception (01223 330906).

Genomics Forum visit January 26, 2010

Reading with a group of lovely poets at the SPL.

 

Two weeks ago I spent a busy and exciting week as a ‘VRF’ (Visiting Research Fellow’) at the Economic and Social Research Council Genomics Forum at the University of Edinburgh. 

The Genomics Forum is a small but busy place, with various researchers, people working on policy and different elements of promoting the public understanding of science (specifically, genomics research,) and two writers in residence, Ken MacLeod and Pippa Goldshmidt. 

The purpose of my visit was twofold: to participate in a poetry evening at the Scottish Poetry Library, and to research ideas for a children’s book on genomics. Both aims were extremely fruitful. 

Ken wrote a great review of the ‘Base Pairs and Couplets’ science-and-poetry evening. It was a thought-provoking evening, and delightful to meet and hear the other poets. Edinburgh has an amazing literary scene, with a pleasantly sized community of writers, so everyone seems to know each other and it makes for great banter and discussion. 

On Sunday I went to the Museum of Scotland to see (taxidermied) Dolly the sheep, a fitting start to my week at the Genomics Forum. I then met Pippa for a lovely dinner at a local ‘posh veggie’ restaurant, where we caught up and talked shop. 

Dolly is in a revolving case; a surprise when you first see her!

 

On Monday I met Steve, one of the Forum’s Directors, and we discussed some of my plans for the week. 

Afterwards, I met Claire, one of the public engagement team of the Genetic Interest Group, for lunch, and she gave me a great deal of interesting information regarding working with children who suffer from genetic disorders, from autism to haemophilia, to cystic fibrosis. 

I then took a bus to King’s Buildings, a ‘distant’ part of the University campus I had never seen before, to meet Chris, who works on the breakdown of cellulose as biofuels. Chris showed me around the labs, which was brilliant. I even got to see the basement ‘fermentation suite,’ where once upon a time an old fermentor had been used to brew beer for the department Christmas party! 

On Tuesday I headed back to King’s Buildings to see The Gene Pool. One one level, names like ‘fermentation suite’ and ‘gene pool’ can be misleading–at least for those with overactive imaginations! Though the Gene Pool turned out to be a fairly ‘regular’ looking laboratory, Karim, the researcher who gave me a tour, was hugely informative, and I found the machines absolutely fascinating. From the outside they can look like just a big featureless computer-like bulk, but once they are opened up, they are really amazing. Moreover, what they do is amazing– and what they do is sequence genomes like crazy. 

Capillary array inside a sequencing machine.

 

On Wednesday I spent the morning in the library of the Royal College of Surgeons, reading through historical papers and books on genomics, from Mendel to Eugenics to the much more recent Human Genome Project. That evening was the lovely Scottish Poetry Library event which I mentioned earlier. 

Thursday was a day trip to the gorgeous University of St. Andrew’s, where I met Lorna, who lectures undergraduates as well as busily runs outreach events for schoolchildren and families. Lorna was extremely helpful in discussing age-focused science education and book ideas. 

Friday I caught up with Steve at the Forum and we discussed possibilities for taking my project further. I have some ideas I need to work on now and I expect this subject will come up again in the not-too-distant future! Then I had a lovely lunch with some friends, Ken, Tom and John, and an amble around Grassmarket with Ken before heading to Waverly Station and back to London. 

A huge thank you to EVERYONE who helped make my trip so productive!

Genomics Forum January 4, 2010

I’m preparing to head to Edinburgh for a week as a Visiting Research Fellow at the Genomics Forum. I adore Edinburgh and am chuffed to have been invited to work on a project there.

Happily, I’ll also be returning to the incredible Scottish Poetry Library for an evening event, ‘Base Pairs and Couplets,’ chaired by Genomics Forum Writer in Residence and Human Genre Project editor Ken MacLeod.

This event is open to all and takes place on 13 Jan at 17:30 at the SPL, but limited spaces require you to email genomics.forum@ed.ac.uk ahead of time.

Surgeons' Hall Museum, one of the places I hope to visit on this trip

For quite awhile I’ve been (and currently am still) stuck into projects in the History of Science, and Genomics, whilst having a fascinating history, strikes me as a much more ‘of the moment / forward-facing’ field of research and innovation. It’s also wrought with controversy, and to write about it at any level invites naive mistakes.

Whilst brainstorming possibilities for a work that would be accessible to 10 or 11-year-old readers, for example, I was discussing the metaphor of our DNA as a ‘blueprint’ for an organism. This ‘blueprint’ metaphor potentially invites the assumption of an architect–and, as one friend keenly pointed out, an easy, if unintentional, segue into intelligent design. Goodness; that’s not what I meant!

So at the moment I’m researching, reading, and trying to chat with as many experts as possible, because whatever comes of this excellent opportunity, I do not want to look back and say ‘that’s not what I meant’!

‘I am not afraid as I descend…’ December 15, 2009

A much loved painted poem in Waterloo Underpass was callously painted over when ‘maintenance’ was carried out on the tunnel by Network Rail.  

 ’Eurydice‘ written by Sue Hubbard, and commissioned by the Arts Council and British Film Institute, has been delighting passers-by for nine years.  

Sue has been working hard to sort out what many consider an act of vandalism. The Facebook Campaign to Put the Poem back in Waterloo Underpass has over 900 members and is still growing.

Whilst it seems likely that, with much effort on her part, Sue may gain permission from Network Rail, part-owners of the property, to restore the poem, no funds from the culprits are to be forthcoming.

In fact, if, as one of the Facebook campaigners suggested, a lot of poets rallied and ‘devandalized’ the underpass, ie, re-painted the poem, I rather doubt there would be any complaints, as then Network Rail would be bothered no longer, and the poem would be restored at no cost to them.

The poem adds a sparkle of Old-London magic to an otherwise dreary postmodern walkway. Though the poem itself is not hundreds of years old, its presence on the dank walls of the tunnel make passers-by feel as if they have briefly stepped into a time which swirls between the ancient Romans and Charles Dickens.

It is tragic that the poem should have been destroyed so ruthlessly, but there is hope that it may be restored. Therein lies the transient power of words. And perhaps, if the Campaign succeeds, there will be some poetic justice in the fact that not one but two paintings of the poem would grace the wall, in layers, as is the way of London.

In Time Out London, Rebecca Taylor covers the ‘mysterious’ disappearance of the poem in further detail, mentioning that the poem was featured as one of London’s gems in Time Out’s ‘Best of London’ September issue.

Linnean Society talk & reading December 10, 2009

On 5th November (yes, Bonfire Night!) I was honoured to speak at the Linnean Society of London.

The talk blended readings of poems from Darwin’s Microscope as well as from Ted Hughes, Richard Tyrone Jones and Talvikki Ansel.

This reading/talk ended with some excellent discussion, followed by a jolly dinner with the delightful President, a few other LinSoc members, and my husband Dani.

There is a review of the event on the Linnean Society website.

It was quite a thrill to stand in the very room where Darwin’s & Wallace’s ideas were first announced (to a notably unenthusiastic audience at the time, it must be said). To my left was the great picture of Darwin, looking balefully out over the more animated audience.

It is said that Darwin wished, towards the end of his life, that he’d read more poetry. Happily, my talk was warmly welcomed by the current members of the Linnean Society.

Whipple Creative Writing Workshop Contributions November 10, 2009

Here are some further contributions from workshop participants…

From Immy, aged 10, the youngest participant in our Creative Writing Workshop.

Immy bravely serenaded us with a lovely song about the ship-shaped sundial, and then impressed us further by reading us a story, ‘The Globe of Puzzles,’ about the jigsaw-puzzle globe. Her contributions are below.

Thank you, Immy!

  

The Sundial Song

I’ve felt the summer sun

Felt the leaves a falling

Seen the world in winter

Seen the darkest night

I’ve been everywhere on the earth but not in Heaven

 

 

The Globe of Puzzles

by Immy age 10

A boy called Joe who was 8 years old walked down an abandoned mine tunnel.  He walked down the tunnel and found a dead end; he saw on a rock shelf a globe that was made of lots of pieces to put together.  He was amazed by the varied colours and the great countries that covered the earth, so he put it together and a voice said in his head how to live forever…….

 

 

From a few of our (adult) participants:

Alex wrote about the ship-shaped sundial as well. I especially love how Alex read about the history of the sundial on the website and worked that into the poem, whilst also taking an imaginative leap from that information into the unknown:

  

Samuel’s sixteenth ship sundial

The man took the ship in the palm of his hand

A beam of light fell on the brassy shape

Telling the time, spelling the state of the day.

Almost 450 year ago Samuel Fox took up his

Instruments, finely sharp and carefully kept

And engraved his initials SF on his sixteenth ship sundial

Ordered by a doctor in Plymouth who wished

He’d gone to sea as a boy.

Who lived in a tall house on the Hoe looking south

Who liked to use arithmetic to sharpen his wits

Who walked with a limp,

Who coughed on damp days.

He would need spectacles to see the fine lines

That Samuel engraved in his workshop in Greenwich

Watched by his apprentice Tom.

The doctor would keep his sundial in a velvet bag

Drawn up by a silken cord. Kept in the third drawer down

On the left of his desk looking out over the water.

Each of Samuel’s ship sundials was slightly different

This one – a chubby shape, with a stocky mast –

Would sail through centuries, lost in a sea of

Where next, what next?

Snug in its high and dry, safe and sound place.

 

 

Here is a piece from Simon, who wrote about the puzzle globe (and also gave excellently evocative readings of this and our gold coin example):

  

The world puzzle

The world was split: brutally, along lines of latitude and radii that ran through the Earth’s core. It lay, set out, upon the table, a dissected planet. The divisions ran sharply across continents and oceans,  cuts of a geometrical sphere that ignored geography and tore over the structures of the Earth’s surface. 

Somehow, gradually, the detail began to creep inside. Line-tendrils from the surface began to snake into the interior, crawling across the blank surfaces of the raw partitions.  Slowly, with muted colours resembling those of lichen, the confusions of the surface crept into the Earth’s interior. A great elephant appeared at the Earth’s core. From America, a vast tree grew into the interior, and on it sat a Native American, talking to a monkey. Last of all, the writing appeared, fitting between the spidery pictures and explaining them. The barren Earth was filled with vegetation, people, and descriptions; the puzzle had solved itself.

 

 

Thank you everyone for your contributions! Most impressive!

Literary Events at the Whipple: Poetry Workshop November 3, 2009

On Thursday 29 October, the Whipple held its first creative writing workshop. Led by Katy Price, Melanie Keene and myself, the group of twelve explored ‘object stories,’ inspired by some beautiful and fascinating museum objects.

Discussing poems in the workshop

Many thanks to Sarah, Melanie, Katy & Steve for their workshop contributions!

We began by reading and discussing a few examples of short writing inspired by specific objects, and the different ways of describing or interpreting their stories.

Next, workshop guests were asked to consider one of three objects from the Whipple Collection, which were displayed specially on a central table within the circle of chairs.

A ‘Jigsaw Puzzle’ Globe, a Model mulberry, and a Ship-Shaped Sundial.

Jigsaw Puzzle Globe (photo: Whipple Collection)

After some discussion, we allowed for about 40 minutes of thinking and writing. A small amount of information was displayed beside each object, and if they wanted, the writers were able to access the further information on the Whipple website.

Once we had deliberated, chatted, written, crossed out, and considered, everyone bravely volunteered to share their work, either by reading out what they had written, or by explaining their thoughts and ideas as to what they wanted to do with the material.

There was a brilliant array of voice and creative imagery. Everyone seemed to come up with rich and interesting material, and they were invited to share their poems with me so I could post them on this blog, and possibly beside the museum objects themselves.

Model Mulberry (photo: Whipple Collection)

Daniel, co-coordinator of the Science and Literature Reading Group in the HPS department and workshop attendee, generously sent me his wonderful poem about the model mulberry:

MURE (Morus nigra, L.)

 

A smooth shiny base, turned like a chess piece,

Is the stage where this mulberry dances

A sumptuous papier-mâché fruit

Seducing us with sugary glances

Her stalk is set at a jaunty angle

Clothed in long stripes of dark green and lime green

The dark spots run through it like Brighton rock

Above it the bulbous fruit reposes

Dark red and black, exploding with sugar

Labels revealing the inner contents

Of the graine ouverte, péricarpe osseux,

The embryou lodged in its secret heart.

 

Daniel Friesner

Daniel and John with the workshop objects

Below are a few of the examples we read and discussed before launching into writing our own material:

The Turnip-Snedder by Seamus Heaney

Next, we looked at an excerpt, read brilliantly (with feeling!) by Simon: from Orhan Panuk, My Name is Red (faber and faber, 2001), pp. 124-125.

Chapter 19

I am a gold coin

Behold! I am a twenty-two-carat Ottoman Sultani gold coin and I bear the glorious insignia of His Excellency Our Sultan, Refuge of the World. Here, in the middle of the night in this fine coffee-house overcome with funereal melancholy, Stork, one of Our Sultan’s great masters, has just finished drawing my picture, though he hasn’t yet been able the embellish me with gold wash – I’ll leave that to your imagination. My image is here before you, yet I myself can be found in the money purse of your dear brother, Stork, that illustrious miniaturist… Hello, hello, greetings to all the master artists and assorted guests. Your eyes widen as you behold my glimmer, you thrill as I shimmer in the light of the oil lamp, and finally, you bristle with envy at my owner, Master Stork. …

… I take pride in being recognised as a measure of talent among artists and in putting an end to unnecessary disagreements. …

            Before I arrived here, I spent ten days in the dirty sock of a poor shoe-maker’s apprentice. Each night the unfortunate man would fall asleep in his bed, naming the endless things he could buy with me. The lines of this epic poem, sweet as a lullaby, proved to me that there was no place on Earth a coin couldn’t go.

            Which reminds me. If I recited all that happened to me before I came here, it’d fill volumes. There are no strangers among us, we’re all friends; as long as you promise not to tell anyone, and as long as Stork Effendi won’t take offense, I’ll tell you a secret. Do you swear not to tell?

            All right then, I confess. I’m not a genuine twenty-two-carat Ottoman Sultani gold coin minted at the Chemberlitash Mint. I’m counterfeit. They made me in Venice using adulterated gold and brought me here, passing me off as twenty-two-carat Ottoman gold. Your sympathy and understanding are much obliged. …

Later in the workshop, we had a great discussion about the poem The Still Lives of Appliances by Rebecca Elson.

Literary events at the Whipple: Dr. Holmes, ‘Darwin’s Bards’ October 27, 2009

As part of our growing series of literature-and-science events at the Whipple Museum of the History of Science, last Thursday evening Dr. John Holmes from the University of Reading gave an excellent talk on his recently published book, ‘Darwin’s Bards: British and American Poetry in the Age of Evolution.‘

Dr. Holmes speaking in the main Whipple Gallery.

John is a bard of bards– he does not claim to be a poet himself, but he reads the work of his subjects with all the zest and verve of a true Romantic. He is always an enthusiastic and illuminating speaker, and the guests who came to hear his talk were engaged, had questions, and genuinely enjoyed the evening.

A comment from my former supervisor, Dr. Doug Shedd, on John’s book:

In discussion with one of the guests.

“John Holmes’s coverage of the relationship between science and poetry in Darwin’s Bards: British and American Poetry in the Age of Evolution is remarkably complete. He has a scientist’s grasp of evolutionary theory and a thorough understanding of the controversies the theory has engendered. He also understands the difficulty many have had in finding meaning in an existence framed by Darwinism. Holmes’s investigation of how poetry addresses these problems is unique, and he is correct in thinking that, “poems can even change how we think about Darwinism itself.” Evolutionary science provides many of the details for understanding why the world is the way it is, but we need “Darwin’s Bards” to help us interpret these details, incorporate them into our collective consciousness, and fully understand what it means to live in a Darwinian world.” — Douglas Shedd, Thoresen Professor of Biology, Randolph College

Thanks to Melanie for being our photographer!

Poet in the Parlour: Residency, Day 4 October 27, 2009

22/10/09

An interesting phenomenon I’ve noticed that falls somewhere along the spectrum from ‘myself-as-poet-in-residence-with-whom-museum-guests-enjoy-an-interesting-chat,’ to, ‘myself-as-mistaken-docent-whom-people-ask-questions-relating-to-musem-objects-which-to-my-surprise-I-have-actually-been-able-to-answer,’ to— ‘myself-as-somehow-a-museum-object-or-specimen’!

Installation art?

Person enters Parlour and possibly notices my sign. Ah, person thinks, ‘poet in the parlour,’ looking over at me, sat in the little brown velvet Victorian chair, reading or writing, or typing on my not-so-Victorian-laptop. Person moves on to consider globes, stereoscopes, and other various objects.

And so I become one of the many things in the museum to, impersonally and silently, consider. Does this make me installation art? Is my presence in the museum still useful—is my very sitting here, in this scientific space, silently writing, bringing attention to ‘science and literature’? Even if we don’t talk to each other, am I encouraging museum guests to think of creative writing in relation to the history of science? Am I failing if this is not the case?

Herschelian telescope

It is my last day ‘in residence’ at the Whipple, and I have enjoyed the residency immensely. We are planning more events, so I will certainly be back, but I do hope to return in the ‘residency’ capacity. Having a few days or a week together of working from the Museum has allowed me to explore ideas of actually being in residence that would not have arisen otherwise—and it has helped my work, as well. I have written a good chunk of the novel, and, today, a new poem, which is a thrill as one hasn’t come for some time. I really have been ‘poet in the parlour,’ then.

I had a fantastic discussion with a guest who was visiting, and who bought a copy of my book, and recommended some great reading materials about optics and lenses (which have to do with a different book I recently finished). I love the somewhat random but definitely intellectual variety of the people coming through here.

Thank you to everyone who has helped me to take part in this residency, especially Melanie, Sarah, Josh, and Liba.