Böcker av Muriel Rukeyser

Marginalian Editions presents a groundbreaking poet's biography of the forgotten scientist who founded physical chemistry, shaping much of the 20th century-and an ingenious, expansive treatise on American creativity, character, and remembrance.Josiah Willard Gibbs (1839-1903) was an American visionary whose work shaped a century of science by bridging classical mechanics and quantum physics. A kindly and shy bachelor who lectured at Yale in relative obscurity for more than thirty years, he single-handedly created the field of physical chemistry without ever completing a single experiment. Gibbs's visionary work enabled future scientists to predict what states a substance can assume and under what conditions-the implications for industry, agriculture, and warfare were vast. Hailed by Einstein as "the greatest mind in American history," Gibbs remained essentially unknown.To acclaimed poet Muriel Rukeyser, Gibbs "lived closer than any inventor, any poet, any scientific worker in pure imagination to the life of the inventive and organizing spirit in America." Rukeyser's thoroughly researched and lyrical tribute to Gibbs is much more than a biography: it is an alchemical compound of philosophy, history, ethics, and literature writ large. It is the story of a country, a century, a global epoch of scientific creativity that would color every realm of human imagination and aspiration, from poetry to politics.

Muriel Rukeyser (1913-80) was one of the most significant and influential American poets of the 20th century. Her poetry confronts the turbulent currents of modern history as it explores with depth and honesty the realms of politics, sexuality, mythic imagination, technological change and family life. This is the first UK edition of her work.

A Muriel Rukeyser Reader gathers a generous selection of poetry and prose spanning the forty-five years of Rukeyser's writing life.