Diane Ackerman

(1948-)

Often combines science and art in her writing . Her books include "On Extendeded Wings," a memoir of learning to fly an airplane; "The Planets: A Cosmic Pastoral," a meditation on the nature of the universe; and "Wife of Light," a collection of poems. Ackerman has been a staff writer at the New Yorker magazine, is a member of the literature panel of the New York State Council on the Arts, and has served as director of the creative program at Washington University in St. Louis. Her work has also appeared in Life, the Paris Review, and the New York Times Book Review.