Emma Lee

Emma Lee’s publications include The Significance of a Dress (Arachne, 2020) and Ghosts in the Desert (IDP, 2015). She co-edited Over Land, Over Sea (Five Leaves, UK, 2015), was Poetry Reviews Editor for The Blue Nib, and reviews for magazines and blogs here.

Uncharted Constellations Contributions

‘What became of the girl who counted’ is a tribute to Katherine Johnson, the gifted mathematician whose one star observation system brought Apollo 13 back to Earth safely.

Here’s a snippet:

An early job saw her double-checking an engineer’s maths.
Something didn’t follow the arc of the radius; a square root error.
Did she question it? A woman questioning a man,
a woman of colour questioning a white man. A deep breath,
Is it possible you could have made a mistake in your formula?

Listen to Emma Lee read ‘What became of the girl who counted’ here:

‘What they were hired to do’ touches on the less glamorous reality of life back on Earth for prominent American astronaut Michael Collins.

Here’s a snippet:

The third astronaut shunned fame. The moon’s done.
He looks forward to Mars. Heroes abound,
but don’t count astronauts among them, he said.

Listen to Emma Lee read ‘What they were hired to do’ here:

Severed Souls Contributions

‘A Sentinel Observes’ perfectly captures the debate around Oumuamua while also raising important questions about our planet’s future. Here’s a snippet:

By the time the scout returns home,
will climate change have ravished Earth?
Will its data tell the story of humans’ demise,
a soon-to-be vacant planet ripe for takeover?
Or does it see springs of hope, pockets
of compassion, chances of redemption?

‘The Yin of Mars, the Yang of Venus’ is an interplanetary party full of vivid imagery and references to real life conditions on both planets. Here’s a snippet:

This party endlessly
supplies hermit tendencies,
a fear of sunlight
displacing the club’s
atmosphere,
forcing a look
at things best hidden.

Listen to Emma Lee read ‘The Yin of Mars, the Yang of Venus’ here:

‘Tales of Bipeds’ tells the story of the fall of humanity from a spider’s perspective and is infused with wonderfully creepy insect detail. Here’s a snippet:

The world belongs to insects now. We arachnids thrive
mending our webs, feasting, mating. My spiderlings
will be rich, privileged with unchecked growth.

Listen to Emma Lee read ‘Tales of Bipeds’ here:

Bark & Bone Contribution

‘Trees want you to interpret their dance’ pleads with readers to preserve a grove of mangrove trees.  Here’s a snippet:

It takes flames of sunset to lead the way
into dark, to bring out vibrant shades,
let shadows silhouette the dwarf mangroves
into shapes as if the grove is a sprung floor,
a stage for choreography conveying a core
message without words. The photographers
take their pictures, hope social media admires
the results. They miss the mangroves’ appeal
to preserve us, heed a community’s call.

Listen to Emma Lee read ‘Trees want you to interpret their dance’ here:

Guest Blogs

Crucial but Marginalised Voices (Guest blog: Emma Lee)

Women have made about 11% of people who’ve made it into space. Despite this, it actually makes more sense to put women in space. Generally they’re smaller and lighter which means they use up fewer resources – not critical in a short trip but on a long mission could prove vital…

Keep reading

Other Publications Include: