From Stem Cells to Stars: Poetry and Physics Chandrika Narayanan-Mohan, Saoirse Anton, Rucha Benare, Iggy McGovern and Rosamund Taylor
Join Institute of Physics Writer in Residence Chandrika Narayanan-Mohan for an afternoon of physics and poetry with writer producer and performer Saoirse Anton, biomedical engineering researcher Rucha Benare, Fellow Emeritus in Physics at Trinity College Dublin Iggy McGovern, and award-winning poet Rosamund Taylor. There will be poetry readings, a panel discussion and Q&A, and the launch of a pamphlet of physics poems by Chandrika Narayanan-Mohan to mark the end of her writing residency.
This event is part of the inaugural IOP Writing Residency, funded by the Arts Council of Ireland and supported by the Institute of Physics. This event is also part of Science Week Ireland 2023, and will be recorded and available to watch online.
We strongly encourage wearing a mask for this event to ensure that everyone attending can feel safe and protected. This event will have live ISL interpretation, and the recording of the event will have captions.
Saoirse Anton is an Irish writer, producer and performer. She is also a feminist, optimist, enthusiast, opinionated scamp and human being. As a poet, she has performed extensively in Ireland and the UK. Selected poems have been published in Rise Up and Repeal, an anthology from Sad Press Poetry, and in Cardiff 75: Writings from the City, an anthology from Parthian Books. She was commissioned by NoFit State Circus to write a poem for their 2022 Clifton Street Festival, and in 2023 was Poet-in-Residence on their production, Sabotage. She has been commissioned by Studio 9 animation studio and RTÉ to write two short poetry films for children, An Oíche is Speisíalta (2020) and Navigating the Rough Seas (2022). She is currently busily writing preparing her debut pamphlet and album. When not writing, she performs with the Sparklettes Hula Hoop troop and works as a freelance producer.
Rucha Benare is a biomedicalengineering research student with a passion for rediscovering myths, biophysics, psychology, and poetry while living in different places and continents. Her heart currently oscillates between Ireland and India; chai and spice bags are her constant companion as she works on projects such as art book on biomechanics for charity and organ-on-chip technology.
Iggy McGovern is Fellow Emeritus in Physics at Trinity College Dublin. He has published three collections of poetry with Dedalus Press: The King of Suburbia (2005), Safe House (2010) and The Eyes of Isaac Newton (2017). Other works include verse biographies of William Rowan Hamilton and Erwin Schroedinger (both with Quaternia Press). Prizes include The Hennessy Award for Poetry and The Glen Dimplex New Writers Award for Poetry.
Photo by: Conor McCabe.
Chandrika Narayanan-Mohan is a Dublin-based writer and performer from India. Her work has been published by Dedalus Press, Lifeboat Press, Poetry Ireland, Banshee, and Stinging Fly amongst others. Chandrika was selected to participate in the Irish Writers Centre’s XBorders programme 2018 and 2020, Poetry Ireland’s Introductions 2021, and Science Gallery Dublin’s Rapid Residency 2021. Chandrika was editor of Poetry Ireland’s Trumpet issue 9, is book reviewer for Children’s Books Ireland’s Inis magazine, and is on the Board of the Irish Writers Centre. She is Writer in Residence for the Institute of Physics for 2023.
Photo by: PressEye.
Rosamund Taylor is a winner of the Telegraph Poetry Prize 2023, The London Magazine Poetry Prize 2020 and the Mairtín Crawford Award for Poetry 2017. Her debut collection, In Her Jaws (Banshee Press 2022), was shortlisted for the Seamus Heaney Poetry Prize for a First Collection and the Yeats Society Poetry Prize. Her work has been recorded for BBC Radio 4 and RTÉ radio.
