Hypatia's Wake

This compelling poetry collection presents Hypatia of Alexandria (355–415 CE) the Egyptian Neoplatonic philosopher, astronomer, and mathematician. Often credited as the first female mathematician, little else is known about Hypatia, leading to many false and fanciful representations of her. Hypatia’s Wake addresses these and the reliable truth about her life and death.

The double bind, a situation in which a person is given two different messages one of which negates the other, features largely in Hypatia’s Wake. It links Hypatia’s life and example to the philosophical theory of contemporary French feminist Luce Irigaray, which examines the uses and misuses of language in relation to women. If we make amends to history and the river of time by waking Hypatia’s death, we wake up to her life—and the significance of our loss.