Introduction
As part of an ongoing project, Jes McCutchen has been delving into the writings and possessions of Geraldine Hart, an interstellar space explorer who passed away recently, leaving her estate to the care of McCutchen and her team, along with living family members, who wish to remain anonymous. In three forthcoming novellas, McCutchen is putting Hart’s journals, letters, and records into a narrative form, making them accessible to the wider public.
Below you will find information about two existing books related to Hart’s life and legacy, as well as an excerpt from the forward to the Starmen Poems collection by McCutchen.
Starmen Poems: A Blackout Poetry Collection by one of Earth’s Interstellar Travelers.
Written by Geraldine Hart, Edited by Jes McCutchen
Geraldine Hart honors the wild spirit of Leigh Brackett’s “The Starmen of Llyrdis” with this empyrean blackout poetry collection. Her poems paint a foreboding picture of the cosmos while the surrounding artwork both amplifies and strangles her words, beautifully communicating the vast yet crushing weight of outer space. Through color and language, the reader feels the poignancy of these poems as the last of Hart’s tethers to humankind, and as a point of entry to get lost exploring the boundless galaxies within ourselves.
–Jessica McHugh, 3x Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of “The Quiet Ways I Destroy You”
Lil’ Space Explorer: Geraldine Hart, an Interstellar Color Primer
Written and Illustrated by Jes McCutchen, Lettered by Maxi Vittor
This charming children’s book is based on the life of Geraldine, who travelled through space and visited three other solar systems and planets! She inspires the imaginations of everyone young and old. Think about how fun it would be to see the beautiful universe and explore new worlds!
FORWARD from Starmen Poems. Written by Jes McCutchen:
During the brief period of time when Earth was an intergalactically connected planet, chosen humans traveled enmasse throughout the galaxy. However, as the years went on, fewer returned and even fewer spoke publicly about their travels through space.
Upon her death, Geraldine Hart, one of Earth’s most beloved travelers, bequeathed her possessions to the museum board of directors at Positive Space, an organization based in Tulsa, Oklahoma where Hart was raised.
It has been my honor to be part of the team chosen to sift through her letters, diaries, possessions and artwork in order to bring a timeline of her life to the public.
This collection of poetry was found within the archives, created by Hart during her trip to and from Khrotina, the third and final planet she visited. Human travelers were given very limited amounts of storage for personal items on each voyage and Hart always chose at least one book, as well as a journal for a portion of her allotted weight.
While most of her writing was in the form of letters, Hart chose a different use for one of the books she brought at some point on her journey, turning it into a collection of blackout poetry. The Starmen of Llydris is a pulp science fiction novel written by Leigh Brackett. Though the majority of historians and scientists agree that Brackett’s work is far from scientifically accurate, space travel scholar Alice Krew writes, “Though there is little factual information to glean from Brackett’s work, but using it as the basis for her poetry, Hart manages to give us a glimpse into the very rawness of emotion tied to interstellar space travel.”
Space travel was not without its toll on the mental health of those who traveled, and following her trip to Khrotina Station, Hart spent time off and on treating her mental health issues in residential facilities. In a letter to a friend dated a short while after her return, Hart wrote, “I fear the words will never come to show how I feel. It’s easier to borrow them from her [Brackett] than to come up with my own. I’m tired.”
While little remains of her account of the journey back to Earth, we know via official documents that of the seven human voyagers who took the trip to Khrotina, Geraldine was one of only two who returned to Earth. The bulk of the information about that trip has been kept behind corporate NDAs.
This collection holds several dozen of her poems, both scanned from their original form on the book pages, and in a typed format. I worked with several poets to ensure the integrity of Hart’s words held up throughout the production of this book.
It was Hart’s direct wish that her story be shared widely, and these poems are one part of that story.
Thank you for reading this haunting and beautiful collection. Safe travels.
J.M.
Images from Geraldine Hart: A Retrospective
