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At a first glance, Mathematics and Literature look like two completely unrelated subjects.

I wonder whether there are examples of acclaimed mathematicians which wrote novels, poems, or other literary works not related to mathematics.


P.S. At the moment, the only example that comes to mind is Alexander Grothendieck who wrote the spiritual treatise "La clef des songs - ou dialogue avec le bon dieu".

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Betrand Russell wrote some novels : Satan in the suburbs: and other stories. – Mauro ALLEGRANZA 22 hours ago
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Would you count Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson) as an "acclaimed mathematician" and would you count his literary works (e.g. Alice in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass, "Jabberwocky") as "not related to mathematics"? Both of those claims are arguable. – Rory Daulton 22 hours ago
    
@RoryDaulton: Good point! However, I would place Lewis Carroll in the category of novelists rather than acclaimed mathematicians. – Jacquard 21 hours ago

Many mathematicians wrote their autobiographies, see the answers to http://mathoverflow.net/questions/102597/history-question-autobiography-of-mathematicians/102676#102676

Quite a few also have engaged in writing literary fiction.

For example, Sofya Kovalevskaya (apart from memories about her childhood) wrote a novel: Nihilist Girl, translated by Natasha Kolchevska with Mary Zirin ; introduction by Natasha Kolchevska. Modern Language Association of America (2001) ISBN 0-87352-790-9.

Kovalevskaya also collaborated with Anne Charlotte Leffler on a play (according to the Wikipedia page of Leffler, the title is The struggle for happiness).

In our times, Michèle Audin, known for her achievements in symplectic geometry, is a member of Oulipo.

She recently published a novel: La formule de Stokes, roman, Cassini, 2016, 297 p. (ISBN 9782842252069) However, in view of the preferred mode of creation by Oulipo, this work may be not entirely unrelated to mathematics. It is a novel, though, not a scholarly or popularizing work.

Some other examples can be found among answers to this question:http://mathoverflow.net/questions/45185/pseudonyms-of-famous-mathematicians/62966#62966

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It is worth noting : Michèle Audin. Remembering Sofya Kovalevskaya (2011). – Mauro ALLEGRANZA 16 hours ago

Hausdorff wrote many literary and philosophical works, including poems and a play, under the pseudonym Paul Mongré.

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Bertrand Russell wrote many books and essays on philosophy and social justice, and was awarded a Nobel Prize in Literature.

And the Persian mathematician Omar Khayyám wrote poetry: quatrains that have been translated into English as the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám.

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I think Omar Khayyam is a great answer to this question, as both his mathematics and poetry are top-rate. – ShreevatsaR 7 hours ago

Several mathematicians wrote excellent recollections about their own life. Some of them are of high quality as literature. My favorite ones are by Weyl, Rudin and L. Schwartz.

David Ruelle (a famous mathematical physicist) wrote some philosophical fiction.

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The Romanian mathematician Dan Barbilian was better known as the modernist poet Ion Barbu. It's interesting that the English wikipedia page deals mostly with his mathematical research. Also it is worth mentioning that he was the first to introduce Modern Algebra (a la Van der Waerden) in Romania.

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The mathematician Jordan Ellenberg (University page, personal website, Wikipedia article, blog) wrote a novel called The Grasshopper King in 2003. Does this satisfy your criteria?

  • "Acclaimed mathematician": child prodigy, two-time Putnam fellow, Guggenheim Fellowship (2015)
  • "novels, poems, or other literary works not related to mathematics": The Grasshopper King is a novel, and not related to mathematics in any way. The setting of the (very funny) book is that of a university professor (of languages/literature) who has stopped speaking, so it is related to academia in some sense, but I don't remember any mathematics in the book.
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The mathematician E. T. Bell (known for Bell numbers, and the first stirrings of umbral calculus) wrote many science-fiction novels under the name John Taine. Arthur C. Clarke considered John Taine one of his heroes. (According to Constance Reid's The Search for E. T. Bell: also known as John Taine, which is a wonderful work of history/biography.)

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