Nonfiction

Cross-Pollinations

The Marriage of Science and Poetry
By
Gary Nabhan
“Fresh and stimulating.” —BOOKLIST
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Cross-Pollinations is a book about dissolving boundaries and blending disciplines to reveal a world rich in possibility, one where unthinkable solutions emerge.

Gary Paul Nabhan, an accomplished biologist and writer—and “a voice that speaks to the laity in clear and coherent sentences” (New York Times)—believes that the free movement between science and literature, between cultivated and wild habitats, and between culture and language engenders the kind of unlikely and seemingly incompatible perceptions that are essential to discovery of any kind. In Cross-Pollinations, he illustrates the successful marriage of science and poetry with true stories about color-blind scientists, the knowledge stored in ancient Native American songs, the link between an Amy Clampitt poem and diabetes research, and a unique collaboration in support of the Ironwood Forest National Monument.

ISBN
9781571312709
Publish Date
Pages
128
Dimensions
5 × 8 × 0.31 in
Weight
5.3 oz
Cover Art
Author
Gary Nabhan

Gary Nabhan

Gary Paul Nabhan is an Agricultural Ecologist, Ethnobotanist, Ecumenical Franciscan Brother, and author whose work has focused primarily on the interaction of biodiversity and cultural diversity of the arid binational Southwest.

Praise and Prizes

  • “From almost every scientific discipline has risen a voice that speaks to the laity in clear and coherent sentences—Stephen Jay Gould from paleontology, Carl Sagan from astronomy, Richard Feynman from physics … . And there is Gary Paul Nabhan, an ethnobiologist.”

    New York Times

  • “Gary Nabhan is a naturalist in the full sense of the word, because he has not forgotten the people.”

    Barry Lopez

  • “A book steeped in metaphor, as Gary Paul Nabhan navigates the mostly uncharted realm between science and poetry.”

    Flagstaff Daily Sun

  • “Gary Paul Nabhan is a brilliant scientist and remarkably successful social activist. His stories are often funny and always invaluable.”

    William Kittredge
    author of Hole in the Sky

  • “A lovely, lyrical little collection of essays … We are reminded that nature itself draws no artificial boundaries, that science and poetry intertwine effortlessly in the world around us.”

    Minneapolis Star Tribune

  • “Fresh and stimulating … Gary Paul Nabhan, a captivating storyteller in command of complex ecological thought, appeals to both our intellect and our imagination… . Nabhan is at once scientist, mystic, and artist as he marvels over the surprising results of the usually covert cross-pollination between art and science.”

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