Poetry as a Tool For Outreach in Quaternary Science: Examples From the 20[sup.th] INQUA Congress

• Published in: Open quaternary 2021-11, Vol.7
• Main Author: Griffiths, Hywel M
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Climatic changes; Conferences, meetings and seminars; Geomorphology; Landscape evolution; Poetry; Poets; Political activity; Scientists; Social media
• ISSN: 2055-298X; 2055-298X
• DOI: 10.5334/oq.103

In this paper I present a series of poems written as Poet-in-Residence at the 20[sup.th] International Union for Quaternary Research (INQUA) Congress in 2019 and evaluate my experience of their composition and the effectiveness of their dissemination via social media from my perspective as a poet and geoscientist. The poems, which mainly focus on research papers presented at the conference in sessions on climate change and cultural legacies, ice-sheet dynamics, and fluvial landscape evolution, illustrate how many themes within Quaternary science, and their relevance to the history, contemporary identity, and future sustainability of human society, can inspire poetic responses. Although the social media reach was relatively modest, engagement with the poetry by other scientists and poets indicated that there is interest within the Quaternary science community for exploring poetry as a method of communicating research. Consequently, recommendations for similar activities in future conferences include organising more participatory and performative activities during the conference programme such as workshops or readings to develop this interest, and varying the methods of dissemination using different social media platforms. Keywords: poetry, outreach, art-science, science communication, Quaternary, geopoetics