Versopolis Podcast #26: Poetry and Physics

Why does it seem safe to assume that physics and poetry stand on opposite sides of human thought? We’ve all heard the cliché of the ‘left and right brain,’ but history tells a different story – one where these disciplines were not so strongly separated. In the century that was marked by quantum mechanics, it is safe to say the Heisenberg and Schrödinger weren’t just doing math – they were searching for a new language to describe reality.

And isn’t that what poetry does, too? Physics is the language of nature, and like poetry, it demands translation – metaphor, intuition and leaps of imagination.

To help us unravel these ideas, we’re joined by Tzveta Sofronieva – poet, physicist and historian of science. With twenty collections of poetry, essays and translations to her name, she bridges these worlds with rare insight. What can poetry and physics teach each other? And why does their dialogue matter now more than ever?

Tzveta Sofronieva is a Berlin-based multilingual author of poetry, essays and plays, working in German, Bulgarian and English. With a background in theoretical physics (M.S., Sofia University) and a Ph.D. in Philosophy and Science Studies, her work bridges science and literature. She has lectured at Harvard, MIT and Cambridge, where she attended Joseph Brodsky’s poetry masterclass. A pioneer in multilingual poetry, she explores ‘clone poems’, ‘otherverses’ and ‘anthroposcene’ aesthetics. Her collections, like Multiverse (2020), reflect scientific precision and linguistic innovation. Awarded the Adelbert-von-Chamisso Prize (2009), her work has been translated into 23 languages. Sofronieva continues to challenge boundaries between disciplines in her writing and visual installations.