Books to travel with: Riffing on Strings edited by Sean Miller and Shveta Verma

16 July 2008
Amanda Gefter
Magazine issue 2665

WHAT first drew me to physics were the words. Cosmos. Entanglement. Spiralling galaxies and stars gone supernova, dark matter and charmed quarks. Physics brims with linguistic magic. And once you peer beneath the words, you find ideas can possess a poetry more poignant than any turn of phrase. String theory may turn out to be wrong. It might not be testable and it might not describe the real world. But it does describe a world that's undeniably poetic.

Still, I'll admit, when I picked up Riffing on Strings I was sceptical. Sure, the poetic building blocks are there, but creative writing and string theory? It's got the potential to go horribly awry. So I was pleased to find such an eclectic, thought-provoking and entertaining collection of writing - perfect for toting along on travels in other dimensions. The book opens with Sean Miller's introduction to string theory and its place [read more]

Caveat: you need a subscription to read the entire review online.

Here's a pdf tear sheet of the print version of the review.

New Scientist also asked to post a few of the poems from Riffing on Strings to their Short Sharp Science* blog (Thursday, July 17, 2008 entry). A reprint of Daniel Hudon's "A Report on the New String Theory Library" is here.

Other news: Elissa Malcohn, who contributed the story "Arachne" to Riffing on Strings, sends us this snap from Fantasy Fest :

On June 21, 2008, I joined other authors at the Carrollwood (Tampa, FL) Barnes & Noble's "Fantasy Fest."

In addition to selling copies of Covenant, I also had contributor's copies of Electric Velocipede #14 and Riffing on Strings on display. Riffing on Strings was also for sale at B&N.

Comments (3)

wow power leveling: ... we provide a wow power leveling, wow power leveling 1 May 08, 2010 wow or: ... wow gold pas cher wow or World of Warcraft Gold. 2 August 04, 2010 discount louis vuitton clothing: ... Having started in 1854, Louis Vuitton is not only one of the oldest, but also one of the most legendary houses of [b]louis vuitton clothing[/b] fashion in the world. It sells its products strictly through its own retail stores, small boutiques in high-end department stores, and online through [b]replica gucci sneakers[/b] website. Louis Vuitton competes directly with such luxury brands as Nike Shoes, Versace,Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, Burberry,Chanel Handbag, Fendi, Armani, and Prada. 3 September 02, 2010

Write comment

Name

Email

Comment

Write the displayed characters

Add Comment