Arranging the Constellations

Arranging the Constellations is the record of a man who straddles the worlds of science and myth and is faithful to both. A physicist who writes poems and yearns to keep the ancient fires of inspiration lit and burning, Robb Thomson can both fondly recall his father's Model T and recognize all too well the first consequences of global warming. There is a hard-won courage in these poems: they accept the passage of time that teaches us how to live with loss after loss and, at the same time, they celebrate the pleasures of the here and now. Behind them, there is a deep-rooted belief in Beauty-in the elegant equations of physics and mathematics; or the magic of language that speaks, at moments, with a power beyond what we know. These poems trace a lifetime spent learning to grasp the right questions to ask; to live artfully, with the hope of adding one man's "marginalia" to the sacred text of the here and now and what lies beyond, "more real than real." -Robert Cording holds the Chair of Creative Writing at the College of the Holy Cross, and is the author of several collections of poetry, including Life-list, Heavy Grace, and Walking with Ruskin.