Today we do not expect poems to carry scientifically valid information — but this was not always the case. In Sweet Science: Romantic Materialism and the New Logics of Life (Chicago, 2017), Assistant Professor of English Amanda Jo Goldstein explores how Romantic poetry served as an important tool for scientific inquiry. She argues that the work of literary authors such as William Blake and Percy Shelley makes a compelling case for poetry’s role in the perception and communication of empirical realities.

Goldstein is joined by James Porter (Classics). After a brief discussion of her work, they open the floor for discussion.