鈥淚鈥檝e imagined giving up science, but I cannot imagine giving up writing.鈥 From the mouth of a poet, these words wouldn鈥檛 usually surprise us. But what if the poet holds a PhD in theoretical ecology, teaches Environmental Science at the University of Guelph, and produces research that is acclaimed both nationally and internationally? Then the statement certainly holds more weight.
So goes the story of Madhur Anand, a Canadian poet and professor who came to Redeemer on Thursday, January 19th to read from her first book of poems, A New Index for Predicting Catastrophes.
鈥淪he fits in perfectly at a liberal arts university,鈥 says Dr. Deborah Bowen, chair of Redeemer鈥檚 English department. Anand鈥檚 pursuit of art and science exemplifies how a scientist or an artist鈥檚 passions need not be confined to a single discipline.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 see those divisions [between art and science],鈥 says Anand. 鈥淐onversations between [disciplines] don鈥檛 happen as often as they should. Exciting things happen at those interfaces.鈥
Anand shared an interface between art and science she encountered in a laboratory in 1996. She was in the final stages of her thesis considering ecological modelling and the recovery of vegetation and forests after disturbances. Most of her time was spent alone behind a computer鈥斺渁 boring environment,鈥 she quipped. But one day, that pattern shifted. 鈥淚 got up and went over to a window,鈥 she recounts. 鈥淔rom there I saw a horse chestnut tree and a bright, green lawn. Then I walked back to my desk and wrote my first poem.鈥
“Suddenly my poetry and research were on equal ground.”
An equally unexpected scene followed when Anand mentioned her poetry to her professor. 鈥淗e encouraged me!鈥 She says, seemingly still baffled twenty years later. 鈥淗e said to include it in my thesis, and suddenly my poetry and research were on equal ground. That was a significant moment.鈥
As Anand explores poetry further, she hasn鈥檛 stuck to a specific writing process. It always begins with noticing something out of place鈥攚hether in language, events, people, or her environment, which might explain the diverse subject matter in A New Index for Predicting Catastrophes. Inside of the book are poems arising from Anand鈥檚 travels, marriage, children and, of course, science.
Though educating readers isn鈥檛 the book鈥檚 telos, readers are bound to learn something scientific while reading. This is because of Anand鈥檚 fascination with the theories, metaphors and beautifully complex language of her field.
鈥淭his is the Ring of Six鈥 is one of the last poems Anand read to the gathered crowd. Written as a list, each line answers back to the title as something of which there are six. A selection from the middle shows how science appears in her work: 鈥渄egrees of separation / ounces of sugar in the 鈥榚asy chocolate cake鈥 recipe / months, we spent trying to conceive / irises, connected by rhizomes.鈥
Anand reminds us to be thankful for stories that prod us toward our own interfaces. A New Index For Predicting Catastrophes is available for purchase , and is well worth taking the time to explore.