Cultural Considerations WG webinar – Still as bright

“Still as Bright blends scientific, cultural and personal strands in an exploration of the Moon and its place in our lives and in mine. I come to know the Moon through my backyard telescope, traversing its wild and sublime surface while contemplating place, time, childhood, mortality—and the future of humans on the Moon. You’ll meet forgotten selenographers, astronauts, scientists, artists and lunar bat-men (hint: they’re not real). You’ll witness a rocket launch, my failed attempt at an occult lunar ritual (a bit icky) and join me at the eyepiece of the 60-inch reflector at Mt. Wilson, California (like orbiting in a capsule).” (Christopher Cokinos)

Key Speakers

Christopher Cokinos, author of the book Still as Bright: An Illuminating History of the Moon from Antiquity to Tomorrow.
Francis French will add more background stories about Al Worden and other astronauts.

Introduction: Remo Rapetti

Comments and questions:
Lisa Pettibone, visual artist
Giulio Prisco, futurist, cosmist, author

Register to participate

Christopher Cokinos is the author or coeditor of several books, including The Fallen Sky: An Intimate History of Shooting Stars, Hope Is the Things with Feathers: A Personal Chronicle of Vanished Birds, and Beyond Earth’s Edge: The Poetry of Spaceflight. He is the winner of awards and fellowships from, among others, New American Press, the Whiting Foundation, the Rachel Carson Center in Munich, and the National Science Foundation. His poems, articles, and essays have appeared in such venues as Scientific American, High Country News, Astronomy, Discover.com, and the Los Angeles Times. Having taught literature, writing, and science communication for more than three decades at three universities, he again lives and writes in Utah.

Francis French has international experience in relating science, engineering, music, astronomy, art, and wildlife to general audiences through classes, workshops, public speaking, television and documentary productions. He is the author of numerous bestselling history books, including a number of books with Apollo astronauts. In “The Light of Earth,” he worked with Apollo 15 astronaut Al Worden to uncover never-before-published poems written in the days and weeks after Worden’s return from the moon. His books are listed at www.francisfrench.com