Cartographies - Paperback

by Eleanor Swanson (Author)

Since the first clay tablets and the Lascaux cave paintings of stars, maps have shaped human views of the world. The poems in Cartographies depict Galileo's three maps of Tuscany and the annual migratory routes of birds, as well as Marie Tharp's revolutionary maps of the ocean floor. Historically, maps have created spiritual and physical spaces that humans have become part of. This collection explores maps from ancient to contemporary times, both literally and metaphorically. The poems consider the realms of knowledge and power as a way of understanding territory, culture, and other various vital human domains.