Mathematics and Poetry

 

Week 8 Reflection Draft

Mathematics and Poetry

Reflection

When I first saw the title of this week’s topic, Mathematics and Poetry, I initially wondered how these two ideas could connect. Mathematics is often framed in schools as logical, procedural, and emotionless, while poetry is associated with creativity and feeling. However, after exploring the Bridges poetry collection and reading works by poets such as Alice Major and JoAnne Growney, I began to see that mathematical structure and poetic structure share many similarities. Both rely on pattern, rhythm, repetition, and constraint.

One of the ideas that stood out to me was the concept of creative constraints. In mathematics we often work within defined rules or structures, and poetry does something very similar. The Fibonacci poem is a clear example of this. The mathematical structure of the Fibonacci sequence becomes the scaffold that shapes the poem, allowing creativity to emerge within the pattern.

Writing my own Fibonacci poems was an interesting experience because it required me to think about syllables as numbers and to carefully choose words that would fit the pattern. This process reminded me of the mathematical thinking involved in weaving and braiding. In my own work exploring sweetgrass braiding as a mathematical practice, patterns emerge through repetition and structure, much like the patterns found in poetry.

This week reinforced the idea that mathematics is not separate from human experience. Like poetry, mathematics is deeply connected to pattern, beauty, and the ways we make sense of the world.

Viewing

Stop 1

When reading Susan Gerofsky’s poem “Diagonal Eyes Enter Leaving,” I had an unexpected connection. The poem reminded me of a Family Guy episode where Stewie asks Brian to write down his last words, which turn out to be about a squiggly line in his eye. It made me laugh when I made that connection, but it also felt surprisingly relevant because I experience something similar in my own vision. It reminded me that mathematical imagery and visual patterns can appear in everyday experiences in ways we might not expect. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqT4W5oe81s

Stop 2

The second poem that made me stop was by Madhur Anand, Parasitic Oscillations. I loved the visual accompaniment of the poem. The way she connected scientific explanations with poetic phrasing was something I would not have thought to try on my own.

It made me think about how inspiration can come from many sources. When reading or observing something, whether it is a scientific explanation, a piece of art, or a mathematical inquiry, we sometimes hear or see poetic phrasing embedded within it.

I especially appreciated how Anand revealed the poem gradually. The sounds of birds and the egg image that the poem begins with drew me in immediately. Starting from a simple idea, in her case bird, and expanding it into poetry that contains underlying mathematics was fascinating. The concept of harmonic sound patterns connected the natural world with mathematical structure.

I also appreciated the interactive element she added. At the end of the poem she included QR codes linked to the sounds of the birds referenced in the work. One of the links did not work for me, but the other two did. One linked to a webpage with recordings and additional information about the species, while the other linked to a video of the bird sounds themselves. This made the poem feel like a multi-sensory experience. 

Stop 3

The third stop happened when I listened to Mike Naylor’s poems.

The first poem used binary code, consisting of zeros and ones, representing a counting system. He then transformed this numerical pattern into a structure containing two words in the same binary-inspired arrangement. This showed how a mathematical number system can directly inspire poetic form.

The second poem, “Water’s Edge,” reminded me of waves moving toward the shore. At the beginning of the poem the lines appear calmer and more regular, but as the poem progresses the structure becomes more uneven and “wavy.” I wondered if this visual shift represents moving further out into rougher water.

Looking at the words themselves also added meaning. The poem begins with the line:

“I walk along the water’s edge…”

This could literally represent the shoreline path. The final lines describe the sea as endless:

“…is as endless as the sea…”

The visual arrangement of the words on the page gave me clues about how to interpret the movement and emotion within the poem.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_CTB6sLnR4

Activity

Fibonacci Poetry

A Fibonacci poem follows the Fibonacci sequence in its structure. The count can refer to syllables per line, words per line, lines per stanza, or another countable element within the poem.

A Fib is a special case of a Fibonacci poem consisting of six lines whose syllable count follows the first six numbers of the Fibonacci sequence:

1
1
2
3
5
8

Fibonacci Sequence Poem

My Attempt

Explanation of My Fibonacci Poems

When I chose to write Fibonacci poems for the activity, I realized that in order to write poetry I need to begin with something I feel emotionally connected to. The mathematical structure of the Fibonacci sequence provided the framework, but the topic needed to be meaningful to me.

I chose to write about my grandchildren, Addie and Archer. Using their names became the starting point for the poems. As I was writing, I began thinking about the idea of generational learning and the passing down of stories and culture, which is something I am also exploring in my final assignment. The Fibonacci structure felt appropriate because it represents growth and continuation, which mirrors the way knowledge and traditions move through generations.

These two little people that I get to have in my life are incredibly important to me. The poems became a small reflection of that feeling. I do not take this time for granted, and writing about them allowed the mathematical structure of the poem to connect with something deeply personal.

Generational Learning

1	Two
1	seeds
2	growing
3	together
5	Addie and Archer
8	carry stories into tomorrow

 

My Favorite

1	Two
1	roots
2	growing
3	through time
5	Addie and Archer
8	holding stories yet to come

 

Very Grandparent Focus

1	Two
1	names
2	spoken
3	softly now
5	Addie and Archer
8	learning what was given to me

 Reading

Can Zombies Write Mathematical Poetry?

Gizem Karaali

Reading Summary

In Can Zombies Write Mathematical Poetry?, Gizem Karaali argues that mathematics is fundamentally a human activity, not simply a mechanical or procedural one. She explains that mathematics involves three important human characteristics: cognition, consciousness, and creativity. Because of this, mathematics should be understood as a creative practice that involves imagination, intuition, and exploration.

Karaali suggests that mathematical poetry helps reveal this human side of mathematics. Although poetry and mathematics may appear very different, both rely on structure, precision, and creativity. By combining these two forms, mathematical poetry challenges the common belief that mathematics is cold or detached from human experience.

Ultimately, Karaali proposes that mathematical poetry can act as an “ambassador” for humanistic mathematics, helping students and the public see mathematics as creative, expressive, and deeply connected to human life. 

Stop 1

One idea that stood out to me was Karaali’s discussion about writing poetry in Turkish, while mathematics felt easier to express in English. This made me pause and think about the relationship between language, identity, and expression.

I wondered whether writing poetry in one’s first language might feel more intimate or personal. In poetry classes I have taken in the past, I often had to dig deeply into personal experiences in order to write meaningfully. Perhaps this is why the author chose Turkish for poetry while mathematics felt more natural in English.

This moment also reinforced how unusual it can feel to place mathematics and deeply personal expression side by side. 

Stop 2

Another moment that made me stop was when Karaali explained that her students initially did not think mathematics and poetry belonged together. That reaction was very similar to my own at the beginning of this week.

When completing the activity, I chose to experiment with Fibonacci poetry because the structure felt more accessible. Even with that mathematical scaffold, however, I found myself turning toward personal themes in order to write.

This made me wonder how other classmates approached the activity. Did they focus on mathematical ideas within the poem itself, or did mathematics primarily provide the structure for their writing? I am not sure which approach is more common, but this was a moment where I paused to reflect on how creativity emerges within mathematical constraints.