Incorrect Astronomy

by Steven L. Peck

Poems that explore existence--both real and imagined.

Genres: Poetry, Science, Astronomy

90 pages, Paperback

First published July 6, 2013

Reviews

[Jenny Webb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Steven L. Peck is a writer of many talents--this collection of poetry makes room for mystery in the quotidian, the fantastic, and even the supernatural. As a biologist, Peck unsurprisingly takes up the natural world in many poems, but this ecological perspective is expansive: if we exist, the what else, or who else, might also exist in this vast universe, and what are the webs that connect us to these potential existences?

If you enjoy speculative fiction, philosophy of science, ecological writing, and even steampunk, Peck's poetry is for you.

[Dayna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not surprised that Pattiann Rogers herself decided to blurb this collection of poems that engage with nature and spirituality. I have so many favorites from this collection, many of which take deep, introspective looks at moments of regret for the speaker in these poems: a rabbit hunt, guarding a border in the army, accidentally hitting a coyote. The ache in these poems combined with the shared humanity and ecology continue to haunt me. I also love the intimations of Peck's Kent BattleDredge in KING LEERE that we get in this collection through Mechanical Man. Also, I'm a sucker for excellent biology poems (antlions! praying mantis! kingfisher! coyote!), and this collection contains them in spades. Hooray for scientist poets!

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a hard time with poetry. This is a collection of "sci-fi" poetry. Kind of. There are poems about the cosmos, poems about insects, a collection of steampunk poems, etc. With some of the poems I felt like "what was that supposed to mean?" but there were other poems that made me feel in awe of God or the universe. I also liked the robot sutras where the robot wonders what their robot god is like.

[Mii · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great read!