Statement
By combining the intensity of poetry with vivid imagery, this series aims to strengthen the voices and experiences of distinct communities of color, synthesizing a striking poetic and visual language to help fill the gap between the sciences and the humanities.
The Poetry of Science creates positive associations between people of color, the arts, the sciences, how nature is perceived, and what it means to generate knowledge.
Throughout history, people of color have forged novel realities and cultures to resist systems of oppression. Discriminatory policies purposely prevent the voices of people of color from being shared and heard, shunting communication vital to surrounding communities. In pulling together these voices and collaborative works, we offer a novel form of storytelling through the experiences of people of color, emphasizing our place within the natural landscape and attempting to answer the question, “Where do we fit in?”
Presented below are the visual representation of scientists as integral parts of the natural landscape, embedded into the very foundation of reality that they study, observe, seek to understand, and create. Accompanying each image is original poetry that sheds light on the awesome power of the sciences and their unique role in the lives of each scientist.
-Joshua Sariñana and Linsey Jayne
Images curated by Joshua Sariñana; Poetry quotes curated by Linsey Jayne; Photographs by Vanessa Leroy
“Beneath a microscope, among/The most beautiful things/You can see: Yellow protein crystal. How it spikes and turns,/Spirals like a curly girl’s hair...” Poet: Danielle Legros Georges; Scientist: Sheena Vasquez. Click image to read poem >>
“Emergent microbes adhere, dynamically motile, matrix-making./From topsoil to intestines cells stick/unstick as biofilm…” Poet: Sophie Laurence. Scientist: Jason Samaroo. Click image to read poem >>
“Golden chalk glitters from my fingers/That create the curls and curves of/A contented Buddha…” Poet: Suparnamaaya Prasad. Scientist: Kathleen Esfahany. Click image to read poem >>
“And as evening comes, perhaps as lights in the lab/are turned down low, there’s quiet conversation,/and one last drink while sitting before the embers/of the charcoal fires...” Poet: Charles Coe. Scientist: Michael Wells. Click image to read poem >>
“Nature./A rolling cacophony – bursting, bubbling, fighting, wrapping its energy around,/leaving only a trail of shredded flowers to follow.” Poet: Luisa Apolaya Torres. Scientist: Shannon Johnson. Click image to read poem >>
“...If a hospital/is a living thing, it would be a big lake,/with fish and frogs, and animals making/their way around. What’s the creature I’d be? ...” Poet: Danielle Legros Georges. Scientist: Daniel Burje Chonde. Click image to read poem >>
“I have 10 light sensors for eyes/But can’t perceive tricks or lies/I’m designed in pink, orange and blue/All my undertones are decided by you...” Poet: Rachel Wahlert. Scientist: Huili Chen. Click image to read poem >>
“It’s time to find new phrases, a different dialect/I leave behind the theoretical/And redirect my intellect/I find a way to reconnect/my head and my heart/And what I do best...” Poet: Suparnamaaya Prasad. Scientist: Kareem Carr. Click image to read poem >>
“With skin brushed then tangled,/with the apple touched at the supermarket then tangled, with the tear wiped then woven away, tangled with even things very distant like Mars dust,/that unravel themselves when /touched by our gaze…” Poet: Miriam Manglani. Scientist: Olumakinde (Makinde) Ogunnaike. Click image to read poem >>
“She gathers her resolve, takes a deep breath/and rises from the bench, whispering a short prayer of thanks/to the eucalyptus tree that granted her this moment of rest and shade,/and perfumed the breeze with hints of mint and honey.” Poet: Charles Coe. Scientist: Nandita Menon. Click image to read poem >>
“The brown and orange leaves swirled around the questions I kept asking, emails/I kept sending. To cradle a larger microscope in my hands, to understand how/viruses and bacteria fight to survive...” Poet: Luisa Apolaya Torres. Scientist: Christian Loyo