Poet Diane Ackerman considers the planets, this time on Planetary Radio Book Club edition.

Welcome to our monthly visit with creators who share their passion for space science and exploration.

I'm Matt Kaplan, Senior Communications Advisor for the Planetary Society,

with more of the human adventure across the solar system and beyond.

Great poetry delivers the essence of both the human experience

and the wonders of nature as no other creative medium can.

When I hosted Planetary Radio, I was always delighted to welcome poets who have written

about the infinite diversity and beauty of the cosmos.

So, I was thrilled to discover a new edition of the planets, a cosmic pastoral, the

1976 collection by our deeply talented guest, author, poet, and science communicator, Diane

Ackerman.

You may know her other work, including The Zookeeper's Wife, the chilling yet inspiring

and true World War II tale that became a great

movie starring Jessica Chastain. And then there's the one I'm reading now, 100 Names for Love,

a finalist for both the Pulitzer and the National Book Circle Critics Award. I counted 24 books on

her website, Diane Aackerman.com.

Three are for children, and seven are poetry collections like the one we'll consider today.

When it first appeared, Planetary Society co-founder Carl Sagan said,

Diane Ackerman has produced a stunning book of poetry in the planets.

The work is scientifically accurate and even a convenient introduction to modern ideas on the planets.

But much more important, it is spectacularly good poetry, clear, lyrical, and soaring.

One of the triumphs of Ackermann's Pastoral is the demonstration of how closely compatible planetary exploration and poetry, science, and art

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