Illinois Physics Professor Smitha Vishveshwara will launch her book Two Revolutions: Einstein’s Relativity and Quantum Physics: A Dialogue between Father and Daughter during Luminous: An Evening of Poetry & Prose April 21st 5–7 p.m. in the Illini Union’s South Lounge.
This event celebrates National Poetry Month, World Quantum Day, and the 2025 International Year of Quantum Science and Technology (IYQ), marking 100 years since the founding of quantum mechanics.
In Two Revolutions, Vishveshwara and her father, prominent black hole physicist C.V. Vishveshwara, discuss the physics revolution that marked his career, Einstein’s general theory of relativity, and the revolution of Vishveshwara’s generation, quantum mechanics, in a series of soulful letters to one another.
Richard Blanco, who read his poem “One Today” at Former President Obama’s 2013 inauguration, endorses the book: “[Smitha] and her co-author and late father, C.V. Vishveshwara know the power of humanizing the sciences so that we may all understand ourselves: scientifically, spiritually, sociologically, emotionally, ecologically, and so on. Smitha accomplishes this through this genre-bending book where physics intersects with memoir, history, prayer, poetry, and the intimate art of letter writing.”
This science-art event will feature readings by Blanco, who in addition to being an internationally renowned poet is also a practicing engineer. Blanco will be reading from Homeland of My Body, a collection of over 100 new and previously published poems selected by the author to represent his evolution as a writer grappling with his identity, working to find and define “home.” Blanco will also read for the part of C.V. Vishveshwara alongside Vishveshwara in excerpts from Two Revolutions.
Two Revolutions and Homeland of My Body will be available for purchase and author signing. Light refreshments will be served. This event is free and open to the public.
Luminous program of events
| 5:00 p.m. |
Opening remarks by Illinois Physics Department Head Professor Matthias Grosse Perdekamp
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| 5:10 p.m. |
Poetry and prose readings
Vishveshwara will read excerpts from Two Revolutions and Blanco will read excerpts from Homeland of My Body. Chloé Firetto-Toomey, a poet and author assistant to Blanco, will also read excerpts from her poetry.
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| 6:30–7:00 p.m. |
Book signing |
Richard Blanco’s Illinois campus visit is sponsored and hosted by The Grainger College of Engineering, the Department of Physics, and the Illinois Quantum Information Science and Technology Center (IQUIST). It is co-hosted by the Krannert Center for Performing Arts, the Krannert Art Museum, the Center for Advanced Study, the Robert J. and Katherin Carr Visiting Authors Series, the Creative Writing Program, the Department of English, and the Department of Latina/Latino Studies.