the points of the curved spikes

mark the exact positions of the brightest stars

with their names labeled at the base of each spike:

Sirius, Canopus, Arcturus, Capella

Horary Quadrants – the pocket size 17^thc. ivory altitude dials

tell the time from the height of the sun to the earth

or the hour of the night from the stars

and thereby the length of the day and the night

in the Ancient Chinese tradition of honoring history over observation

they gave the titles ‘imperial concubine’ and ‘celestial emperor’

to the constellations on their sky globes.

Today murky uncertainties linger between science and desire

and still mankind embroiders the tree of life with theories

while toying with pleasures that both mock and fulfill.

Is the Grand Orrery a mere fanciful heavenly charm

for it is unknown to female nightingales

who migrate in darkness

waiting for the males to sing

and call them down out of the sky.

Daphne Astor

A week later at lunchtime I passed a sign in the grass saying NO LANGUAGE GAMES while walking to hear Sean Borodale read from his astounding Bee Journal at the Museum of Classical Archeology. 

The next event was at the University Library at teatime with Gillian Clarke and Imtiaz Dharker both fresh from teaching a workshop with young Peterborough students who were so galvanized by the experience that they clapped enthusiastically after each poem. 

The following evening was at the Fitzwilliam to hear part of the emotive dramatic poem ‘Pink Mist’ by Owen Sheers after which he mentioned that in years gone by summer sunbathing on the roof of the Fitz was a popular pastime for staff.  Finally last Thursday at 6:00pm we gathered for Jo Shapcott’s compelling radio verse play ‘Erebus’ at the Polar Museum in a room with an enormous polar bear skin splayed on the wall next to a fierce sign: CAUTION Do Not Touch This Pelt.

Not only has the poetry been inspiring but the museums have come alive in new ways. All the events are free, there are many more to come, check the Thresholds website regularly.

After their first scheduled visit had to be cancelled due to icy weather conditions, I was delighted to finally welcome students from Neale-Wade Community College to the Whipple Museum.

During an introductory tour, we considered the relationships between the beauty of an object and other aspects like purpose or utility. The more a scientific instrument is used, the greater the chances of it getting broken, lost and even, eventually, thrown away. Those instruments that survive intact to end up in a museum are more likely to have been intended as display pieces from the start – and so designed for form as much as function.

Next, Don Paterson offered the students some inside tips on poetry and writing. Following advice from Don on how to be sensitive to your environment and ‘let your object find you’, the students explored the Whipple with purpose. The galleries were almost silent, but filled with concentration.

After lunch, the students reported back on the objects they planned to write about. From a wax embryo to an astrolabe, glass models of fungi to faulty protractors, their choices ranged over the variety of objects in our collections.

Working with such enthusiastic and thoughtful students is a pleasure. I look forward to seeing their finished poems.

Vashka dos Remedios
Whipple Museum of the History of Science

Image: Glass model of Bremia lactucae (C) the Whipple Museum (Wh.5826.24)

Don’t look for ‘something to write about’. Let it look for you. Poets don’t really write ‘about’ things – they write with them.

When your object finds you, make a meticulous description of it, so you can remember it. Take a picture on your phone if you can. Make notes on its history, use, inventor – you never know which of these details will spark a great poem.

As we say, ‘subject matter is pretext’. That means that despite the fact you think you’re writing about Newton’s prism – it’ll often turn out to be an excuse to write about something else. Chances are your object will really be a symbol or a metaphor of some feeling, event, situation, idea, person, buried memory – that will surprise you.