Tag: Studies in Aluminum

Poetry

“The Price of Aluminum” Published at The American Journal of Poetry!

Hi All!

My poem “The Price of Aluminum” is up at The American Journal of Poetry! You can read it here (but beware, it’s lengthy). The poem was a series of studies I did while I was researching the history of aluminum manufacture.

It’s too easy to take for granted something so ubiquitous and ready-to-hand as aluminum. Understanding its history, the discovery, little by little, of its properties, sometimes on purpose, sometimes not, and the evolution of its manufacture, its economies, all of it is astounding and rich with drama.

Anyways, check it out and also check out The American Journal of Poetry. They have lots of great poetry to read.

Robert

Poetry

Studies in Aluminum V

Happy New Year’s Eve!

This is part of a series I’m working on that looks at the history of aluminum, from its discovery as a metal to its mass production. The poems are connected loosely by their shared themes, but don’t have to be read in any order.

The “You” in this poem is Napoleon III (1808-73), a very interesting, tragic figure in history, who gave Henri Étienne Sainte-Claire Deville unlimited resources to experiment with aluminum manufacturing. Napoleon was hoping to get aluminum armor for his military, but it was not meant to be.

 

THE PRICE OF ALUMINUM

Silver from Clay

 

In 1855 a kilogram cost two thousand francs,

or the average household salary for that year,

or roughly twelve ingots arranged pyramidal

and garnering rude skepticism from social elites

in the cast iron nave of a Gothic whale’s gut.

Continue reading “Studies in Aluminum V” →

Poetry

Studies in Aluminum II

This is the second poem in a series I’m working on. You can read the first one here. This one is about the relationship of Humphry Davy and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. The title is taken from one of Davy’s Bakerian Lectures. Thanks for reading, and feel free to comment.

 

On Some Chemical Agencies of Electricity

The poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge is come to London

to give some lectures on Shakespeare, of which one

concerning Hamlet, in two years’ time, will save the play

from the likes of Dr. Johnson and August Schlegel.

Continue reading “Studies in Aluminum II” →