Abstract
Two mathematical poets share reflections on the overlap between mathematics and poetry. In particular they respond to questions such as what makes mathematics poetic, what makes poetry mathematical, what mathematical poetry might entail, and how it might be used in an educational setting. An extensive list of references points to the rich and growing literature on the topic.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References
Akbar A (2013) Sexually charged poem about learning metric wins Forward Prize, Independent 1 Oct 2013. Available at https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/sexually-charged-poem-about-learning-metric-wins-forward-prize-8852157.html
Alpaugh D (2010) The new math of poetry, The Chronicle of Higher Education. Available at https://www.chronicle.com/article/The-New-Math-of-Poetry/64249/
Altieri J (2005) Creating poetry: reinforcing mathematical concepts. Teach Child Math 12(1):18–23
Ayebo A, Wiest LR, Sherard H (2010) Poematics: exploring math through poetry. Math Teach Middle School 15(7):378–381
Barber HC (1930) Poetry and mathematics by Scott Buchanan. Math Teach 23(6):396
Bay-Williams J (2005) Poetry in motion: using Shel Silverstein’s works to engage students in mathematics. Math Teach Middle School 10(8):386–393
Birken M, Coon AC (2008) Discovering patterns in mathematics and poetry. Rodopi, Kenilworth
Buchanan S (1929/1962) Poetry and mathematics. The John Day Company, New York. Republished in 1962, in Philadelphia, by J. B. Lippincott
Cobb GW, Moore DS (1997) Mathematics, statistics and teaching. Am Math Mon 104(9):801–823
Connor-Greene PA, Young A, Paul CP, Murdoch JW (2005) Poetry: it’s not just for English class anymore. Teach Psychol 32(4):215–221
Curcio FR, Zarnowski M, Vigliarolo S (1995) Mathematics and poetry: problem solving in context. Teach Child Math 1(6):370–374
Emmons C (2007) S|{e,s,t,i,n,a}|. Math Intell 29(1):7
Emmons C (2010) Snowflake. Math Intell 32(2):5
Emmons C (2013) How to cook up a math poem in n easy steps. J Humanist Math 3(1):108–114. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/jhm/vol3/iss1/9
Emmons C (2017) Bridges 2016 poetry anthology. J Math Arts 11(1):62–66
Epstein J (1988) Who Killed Poetry?, Commentary. Available at https://www.commentarymagazine.com/articles/who-killed-poetry/
Fadiman C (1958/1997) Fantasia mathematica, an anthology. Simon & Schuster. Republished by Springer, New York in 1997
Glaz S (2010) The enigmatic number e: a history in verse and its uses in the mathematics classroom. Convergence. https://doi.org/10.4169/loci003482
Glaz S (ed) (2013) Bridges 2013 poetry anthology. Tessellations Publishing, Phoenix, AZ
Glaz S (ed) (2014) Journal of Mathematics and the Arts. Special issue on poetry and mathematics 8(1–2).. https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tmaa20/8/1-2
Glaz S (ed) (2016) Bridges 2016 poetry anthology. Tessellations Publishing, Phoenix, AZ
Glaz S (ed) (2018) Bridges 2018 poetry anthology. Tessellations Publishing, Phoenix, AZ
Glaz S (2019) Enheduanna: princess, priestess, poet, and mathematician. Math Intell. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00283-019-09914-7
Glaz S, Growney JA (eds) (2008) Strange attractors: poems of love and mathematics. A K Peters, Wellesley
Glaz S, Liang S (2009) Modeling with poetry in an introductory college algebra course and beyond. J Math Arts 3:123–133
Grosholz ER (2018) Great circles: the transits of mathematics and poetry. Springer, Cham
Growney JA (1992) Are mathematics and poetry fundamentally similar? Am Math Mon 99(2):131
Growney J (ed) (2001) Numbers and faces. Humanistic Mathematics Network
Growney JA (2006) Mathematics in poetry. J Online Math Appl 6. Available at https://www.maa.org/sites/default/files/images/upload_library/4/vol6/Growney/MathPoetry.html
Growney JA (2008) Mathematics influences poetry. J Math Arts 2(1):1–7
Growney JA (2009) What poetry is found in mathematics? What possibilities exist for its translation? Math Intell 31(4):12–14
Grumman B (2014) Visiomathematical poetry, the triply-expressive poetry. J Math Arts 8:31–37
Hammett JE (2007) Turning the mathematics classroom into an intellectual playground through poetry. Math Teach Middle School 13(4):195–198
Henle J (2011) Is (some) mathematics poetry? J Humanist Math 1(1):94–100. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/jhm/vol1/iss1/7
Johnson SGB, Steinerberger S (2019) Intuitions about mathematical beauty: a case study in the aesthetic experience of ideas. Cognition 189:242–259
Karaali G (2014) Can zombies write mathematical poetry? Mathematical poetry as a model for humanistic mathematics. J Math Arts 8(1–2):38–45
Katz SR (2017) A math poem. J Humanist Math 7(2):415–415. https://scholarship.claremont.edu/jhm/vol7/iss2/24
Keller R, Davidson D (2001) The math poem: incorporating mathematical terms in poetry. Math Teach 94(5):342–347
LaBonty J, Danielson KE (2005) Writing poems to gain deeper meaning in science. Middle Sch J 36(5):30–36
Lesser LM (2014) Mathematical lyrics: noteworthy endeavours in education. J Math Arts 8(1–2):46–53
Lesser LM (2017) Diameter [poem and discussion questions]. Tex Math Teach 63(2):14, 31
Lesser LM (2018) Student-created songs in statistics class. Presentation at 4th electronic conference on teaching statistics. https://www.causeweb.org/cause/ecots/ecots18/posters/4-04
Long VM (2001) Polygons to poetry. Math Teach Middle School 6(8):436–438
Marcus S (1998) Mathematics and poetry: discrepancies within similarities. In: Sarhangi R (ed) Bridges: mathematical connections in art, music, and science. Bridges Conference, Southwestern College, Winfield, Kansas. Available online at http://archive.bridgesmathart.org/1998/bridges1998-175.html
Maslanka K (2010) Five types of mathematical poetry, blog post dated 14 June 2010. http://mathematicalpoetry.blogspot.com/2010/06/4-types-of-mathematical-poems.html
Pinter M (2014) How do I love thee? Let me count the ways for syllabic variation in certain poetic forms. J Humanist Math 4(2):94–100. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/jhm/vol4/iss2/10
Plotz H (1955) Imagination’s other place: poems of science and mathematics. Thomas Y Crowell Company, New York
Raman-Sundström M, Öhman L-D, Sinclair N (eds) (2016) Journal of Humanistic Mathematics. Special issue on the nature and experience of mathematical beauty 6(1). https://scholarship.claremont.edu/jhm/vol6/iss1/
Robson E, Wimp J (eds) (1980) Against Infinity. Primary Press, Parker Ford
Sanders ST (1942) Mathematics and poetry. Natl Math Mag 17(3):98
Steinsaltz A (2016) Two Languages and the Chasm between Them, Standpoint, 22 Mar 2016. https://standpointmag.co.uk/issues/april-2016/text-april-2016-rabbi-adin-steinsaltz-two-languages-science-poetry-religion/
Wesick J (2017) Moneyball for creative writers: a statistical strategy for publishing your work. J Humanist Math 7(1):155–171. https://scholarship.claremont.edu/jhm/vol7/iss1/13
Whitin DJ, Piwko M (2008) Mathematics and poetry: the right connection. YC Young Child 63(2):34–39
Zeki S, Romaya JP, Benincasa DMT, Atiyah MF (2014) The experience of mathematical beauty and its neural correlates. Front Hum Neurosci 8:68. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3923150/
Zhang-Negrerie D (2015) From tangency to truth: an intersection of math, poetry, and art, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Karaali, G., Lesser, L.M. (2020). Mathematics and Poetry: Arts of the Heart. In: Sriraman, B. (eds) Handbook of the Mathematics of the Arts and Sciences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-70658-0_45-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-70658-0_45-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-70658-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-70658-0
eBook Packages: Springer Reference MathematicsReference Module Computer Science and Engineering