The New York Times Book of Science by New York Times The

Author:New York Times, The
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sterling

Postscript: Standby Update Moon Poem

By A. M. ROSENTHAL

The moment Apollo 11 went up, we knew the newspaper would need help four days later, when the astronauts landed on the moon, to tell the joy that was in us.

Even though we were farther from the action than journalists had ever been—about a quarter of a million miles away—it was the biggest story the editors of The New York Times had ever had a hand in, or would have.

But like every person who watched we felt we personally were part of the beauty and achievement, the great soaring. We loved those three men because we knew their adventure was born of the elegance of the human mind and desire.

They allowed us to feel part of that elegance. Humanity was loving itself, which does not happen often.

We made no great preparation for the possibility of disaster. So many big stories involve tragedies—wars, earthquakes, assassinations. But for once our journalistic minds were set for happiness and for once a big story filled a newsroom with joy.

But how would we express that, when the moment came when man set foot on the moon?

We decided on the simplest of pages—one story, pictures and whatever talk would be recorded between Houston and the moon. And we ordered a special headline type to be cast, one inch high. Bigger than ever used in the history of the paper!

Shouting is one way to express joy, but what else? We decided what the front page of The Times would need when the men landed was a poem.

What the poet wrote would count most, but we also wanted to say to our readers, look, this paper does not know how to express how it feels this day and perhaps you don’t either, so here is a fellow, a poet, who will try for all of us.

We called one poet who just did not think much of moons or us, and then decided to reach higher for somebody with more zest in his soul—for Archibald MacLeish, winner of three Pulitzer Prizes. He turned in his poem on time and entitled it “Voyage to the Moon.”

The poem was written on the assumption that the astronauts themselves had touched the moon. But the moon walk was taking place at about deadline time. Suppose it was delayed. We would need a poem rewrite, fast.

Henry R. Lieberman, then director of science news, was asked to call Mr. MacLeish and tell him to stand by to update the moon poem. After the moon walk, Mr. MacLeish was informed he could stand down; the poem was running in all editions.

The poem set other poets to work. A couple of weeks later, The Times ran a whole batch of moon poems. The MacLeish poem was reprinted in books and received everlasting recognition and distribution on reproductions of the front page on paperweights, coffee mugs and plastic shopping bags.

The shopping bag shows the headline, much of the lead story and the excerpts of the moon-Houston talk.

But I regret to say

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