The Poem on Nature: De Rerum Natura in Bloomington, MN

This famous cross between poetry and philosophy follows Lucretius' enquiring, scientific mind as he investigates the workings of mirror images, thunderstorms and magnetism, and the significance of sleep. The poem's power lies in the tension between the brief, sensuous richness of life and Lucretius' overarching belief in an empty universe of eternally recurring elements.