STILL AS BRIGHT

An award-winning author takes a close and fascinating look at our cosmic neighbor.

The Moon is at once near and far, familiar and enigmatic, and it has always been a source of wonder, writes Cokinos, author of The Fallen Sky and Hope Is the Thing With Feathers. The author has been infatuated with the Moon since he was a child, and a remarkable 1966 photograph of the lunar landscape gave fresh momentum to his interest, adding a crucial element of scientific inquiry. Cokinos examines the long history of Moon watching, noting that a poem about it was written in Sumeria 4,000 years ago. The Moon has loomed large in literature, astronomy, and astrology, and its predictable cycles helped to build the human understanding of time. The author delves into the meanings and explanations, as well as the many origin stories, linked to the Moon by various cultures. Of course, the invention of the telescope opened a new avenue of study, and in the 20th century, the focus shifted to scientific approaches, culminating in the Apollo missions and eventual landings. Cokinos has a great time with all of this material, and his enthusiasm for his subject is contagious. In the final section of the book, he looks at proposals for establishing lunar settlements, which he sees as difficult but possible in the not-too-distant future. Regardless, the author believes that the mystery will never be buried by the science. “The Moon is an archive of human feelings and material truths,” he writes. “The Moon is more than a rock….Known by reason and held by love, the Moon invites our gaze and our gasps, the sights and breath of awe, the glow and rhythm of dwelling itself.”

Writing with a clear, poetic voice, Cokinos shows how the story of the Moon is also a story of humanity.