Earth Day Poetry and Science: Poets Discuss Perception, Place, and Nature on Science Friday

In this Science Friday episode, Flora Lichtman hosts a conversation with poets Jane Hirschfeld and Kimberly Blaser about turning landscape, perception, and Earth Day moments into poems. The discussion weaves together how precise observation becomes a question, how poetry and science share a disciplined attention, and how language can invite readers into mysteries without resorting to clichés. Listener voices—from Zion National Park to Grand Lake in Oklahoma and a Pennsylvania valley—ground the dialogue in real places and looming change. The program highlights the shared discipline of attention, the risk of loss, and the power of art to keep us connected to the living world.

• Observation as a starting point: precise perception sparks a deeper inquiry.
• Poetry as active attention: looking closely, embracing surprise, and letting language hint at the ineffable.
• Gesture and restraint: inviting meaning by leaving space for the reader.
• Earth and memory: moments of awe tempered by awareness of future loss.

Overview

Science Friday presents a thoughtful dialogue on how poetry can respond to Earth Day by translating momentary perceptions of nature into language that preserves wonder while acknowledging mystery. Flora Lichtman hosts Jane Hirschfeld, founder of Poets for Science, and Kimberly Blaser, former Wisconsin poet laureate. The discussion centers on how poets begin a poem from a precise, perceptual moment, how poetry and science share a common practice of attention, and how language can skirt sentimentality while still capturing the sensuous, emotional and existential layers of place.

Quotes anchor the themes:

"Poems tend to come to me from one really precise, sharp perception that raises a question that wants to be gone into further, felt through, further, understood more deeply or felt more deeply." - Jane Hirschfeld

"poetry is an active attention." - Kimberly Blaser

"The poem becomes an invitation to discover what can't be said or isn't said there. The poet has a little restraint that they use because then it leaves a place. I call this generosity to the reader." - Jane Hirschfeld

Poetry as Process

The guests outline two complementary approaches to nature writing. Jane describes how a poem often begins with a precise perception that raises a larger question to be explored beyond the initial observation. Kim emphasizes poetry as an act of constant, open attention, inviting readers to come along the journey toward beauty, mystery, and the edge of what language can capture. The conversation also touches on the tension between the present moment and the memory or anticipation of what lies beyond it, a tension that both poets acknowledge and seek to temper with sound, rhythm, and gesture.

Quotes anchor the themes:

"Poems are experiments in search of meaning" - Flora Lichtman

The Intersection of Science and Poetry

The discussion aligns poetry with scientific inquiry in its insistence on careful observation, attention to detail, and a willingness to live with unanswered questions. Both domains aim to illuminate the human experience of living in the natural world, and both rely on disciplined craft to translate perception into understanding. The guests also reflect on how Indigenous and non-Indigenous poetic traditions can illuminate different ways of knowing the land and its processes.

Quotes anchor the themes:

"There is no end to it in the same way that there is no end to the research of a scientist. Right. I think in my mind, it's to get to know that being or reality" - Kimberly Blaser

Listener Voices: Place, Time, and Loss

Listener calls anchor the discussion in lived experience, from Zion’s time capsule-like landscapes to Oklahoma’s sunsets and a Pennsylvania valley facing potential ecological change. The comments highlight both the beauty of place and the fragility of ecosystems under threat from energy development and extraction. The speakers respond by weaving the emotional resonance of place with the cognitive act of observation, and by underscoring how poetry can teach resilience in the face of uncertain futures.

Quotes anchor the themes:

"time stands still there, like a natural wonder time capsule" - Christopher, Tampa

"There is a good chance we will lose our water and perhaps our home" - Susan, Pennsylvania

Closing Reflections

The episode closes with a poem about resilience and the enduring human impulse to connect with place. The poets’ readings of trees and landscapes emphasize not only the beauty of the world but also the responsibility to preserve it and the role of poetry in naming and sustaining wonder even as loss becomes likely.

Quotes anchor the themes:

"redwoods come back from the roots. They are resilient creatures" - Jane Hirschfeld