How many poets have found inspiration in the stars? Jocelyn Bell Burnell, a
co-discoverer of pulsars, can appreciate the attraction. She collects poems
about astronomy, and discovered some new ones in A Quark for Mister
Mark— a compilation of science poems edited by Riordan and Turney
(Faber, 2000).
Another “excellent” compilation she’s got her teeth into is Written By
Herself (volume 2), an anthology of women’s memoirs edited by Jill Ker
Conway (Vintage, 1996). Conway’s introductions are “full of food for thought”.
Bell Burnell also recommends Over Here by former US ambassador Raymond
Seitz (Phoenix, 1998). Having recently…
