Romantic science on the London Underground
9 Mar 2010, 12:10 UTC
The Royal Society celebrates its birthday with poetry...
A tube speeding into a station of the London Underground
By James Dacey
It may be convenient, but the London Underground can be a dark, uninspiring place at times. That is why we should welcome this new project by the Royal Society that is decorating London tubes with poetry inspired by scientific discovery and the changes it has brought to our society. The project is part of the 350th anniversary of the Royal Society, and is one of a number of projects and events taking place this year.
Works by William Blake and Alfred Lord Tennyson feature in a collection of six poems that appear in tube carriages across all London Underground lines. The collection also contains more modern pieces including, my personal favourite, a poem called Out There by Jamie McKendrick. The 20th century British poet manages to bring a sense of humour to the, often cold, images evoked by human space travel:
Nostalgia for the earth and its atmosphere
weakens the flesh and bones of cosmonauts.
One woke to find his crewmate in a space suit
and asked where he was going. For a walk.
The project is the brainchild ...
