In the summer of 2017 Science magazine published a collection of 118 haiku about the chemical elements by poet and writer Mary Soon Lee. Two years later Elemental Haiku is now being published as a book by Ten Speed Press, with added explanations from Mary and illustrations by Iris Gottlieb.
The Sciku Project was lucky enough to chat with Mary about the collection and in the first part of the interview we go back to the beginning and discuss the process of writing and publishing the poems in Science.
In the introduction to the book you say that one day you sat down and without any grand plan in mind wrote a haiku for hydrogen and the rest seemed to follow from there. What prompted you to want to write a poem about hydrogen and why did you choose to write it as a haiku?
Mary Soon Lee: I keep a list of ideas that appeal to me, and when I sit down to write, I will sometimes pick an idea from that list. Other days, the process is more haphazard. I am fond of a book called “The Daily Poet” by Kelli Russell Agodon and Martha Silano, which contains writing prompts that may start my thoughts wandering in a helpful direction. Often I jot down semi-random words or notions in a notebook before settling on a topic. For 12/14/2016, the day that I wrote the hydrogen haiku, I have no scribbles in my notebook. I think the idea must have just popped into my head, including the decision to make it a haiku.
Why Science, was that Lisa Rodgers’ suggestion or did you have it in mind as you developed the project further?
Mary: Partway through writing the Elemental Haiku, it occurred to me that that they might appeal to scientists, and so I decided to try submitting them to a scientific journal before sending them to a conventional poetry market. Lisa Rodgers has given me many excellent suggestions, but this idea was my own.
Having been through the Science review process a couple of times (both successfully and not!), I’m intrigued by how they reacted to your submission and whether there was any review process involving chemists or indeed other poets?
Mary: I submitted the haiku to Science as if they were a normal article, though I think I included a brief explanatory note. Six weeks later, I heard back that they would like to run the haiku as a poetry feature in the Letters section. The editor, Jennifer Sills, suggested several small revisions, but they were of a poetic slant rather than a scientific one. (It may well be that they reviewed the science content of the haiku behind the scenes.) After their appearance in Science, my book editor, Lisa Westmoreland, was able to get a chemist to review the haiku. Happily the reviewer didn’t spot any errors. I should also mention that my husband is usually my first reader, and he read the haiku before I submitted them anywhere.
What reaction did you get when the poems were published in Science?
Mary: I received quite a lot of emails from people who’d enjoyed the haiku, which was lovely. There were also a few articles, including an article in the Wall Street Journal that quoted the haiku for lithium, carbon, and silver. Over time, I received more nice emails and a few permissions requests. For instance, Tarik Gunersel asked to translate the haiku into Turkish, and later published several of the translations. This summer, C&EN — Chemical & Engineering News — asked me to contribute an essay to a special feature on the periodic table. (The essay may be read here).
The haiku have multiple themes to them – some are about an element’s history, its usage, position in the table or its structure. Did you take several approaches for each element and decide on the best or did you go with what felt right for each element? Was it important to have a balance of approaches across the collection?
Mary: With a few elements, I knew the theme I’d choose immediately. For instance, I decided in advance that the haiku for potassium would be about it yearning for the halogens on the other side of the periodic table. In most cases, however, I began by looking up multiple sources about the element, and then considering which aspects to write about. As part of that process, I did indeed try to balance the collection. I wanted the haiku to vary in tone as well as subject matter, with some being more serious and some more frivolous.
How many haiku did you write for each element and are there any haiku that didn’t make the cut but that you would have liked to include?
Mary: I usually only wrote one haiku that I liked, but sometimes that meant writing several haiku that I abandoned. I don’t think there are any abandoned haiku that I wish had been included…. In the few cases where I liked two haiku for an element, they both ended up in the book.
I find haiku to be quite a forgiving medium for science writing – I think that it’s hard to write a truly terrible science haiku (although it’s also hard to write a good one). At the same time a lot of the researchers I speak to find poetry itself intimidating and then the conciseness of haiku especially so. To get them breaking through that mental barrier I advise them to begin by writing a few key words down about their research and counting the syllables, almost piecing together a poem like a puzzle. How did you approach writing the haiku themselves?
Mary: With haiku, I think I usually try to decide what I want to say first, and then try to find a way to express that as clearly, concisely, and poetically as I can. American haiku don’t always keep to the tradition of a 5-7-5 syllable count, but I like to do so. As you mention, the process can feel like fitting together puzzle pieces. Both with haiku and other poetry, I often look up words in a thesaurus to search for synonyms with different sounds or shades of meaning … or different syllable counts.
Do you have any tips for anyone wanting to write scientific poetry, and for scientific haiku in particular?
Mary: The Elemental Haiku are my first significant foray into science poetry, so it is a comparatively new venture for me. Beyond trying to research the scientific content carefully, I’m not sure I have science-specific advice to offer. There are a few things that have helped me more generally. Firstly, reading widely. Secondly, writing about what matters to me or interests me. Thirdly, looking for feedback to improve my writing. (I ran a writer’s workshop for about a decade; nowadays, I ask family members to give me feedback on my work.)
I hadn’t realised you’d run a writers workshop – how did you find the process of teaching writing and why did you stop?
Mary: I didn’t teach writing, just started and ran the workshop. We followed a format close to that used by the Clarion workshops, where the author stays quiet while the other members offer initial feedback on their story, followed by more general discussion. I tried to make sure that comments — especially negative comments — were restricted to the story rather than the writer. After the birth of my second child, my limited free time became even more limited, so I withdrew from the workshop.
I can sympathise – small children are (wonderful) time thieves! Thank you for taking the time to talk with The Sciku Project.
Check out the rest of our interview where we discuss the process of converting Elemental Haiku into a book (Part Two) and Mary’s other writing, upcoming work and Star Trek (Part Three). You can also read The Sciku Project’s review of Elemental Haiku here.
You can find out more about (and order) Elemental Haiku here. Images and text reprinted with permission from Elemental Haiku: Poems to Honor the Periodic Table Three Lines at a Time by Mary Soon Lee copyright © 2019. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC.