Human Cartography

In this collection, poet James Gurley maps the emotional and physical landscapes we inhabit. His poems employ the theorems and metaphors of science to examine how history and the natural world around us help shape our lives. Displaying what 2002 T S Eliot judge David Wagoner called "the best kind of literary empathy", Gurley retells the stories of historical figures -- naturalists, explorers, ornithologists, photographers -- and brings these characters alive in a contemporary context that heightens the parallels between past and present. The different voices from science and art -- usually seen as incompatible-link to form a comprehensive vision of the human experience.