Arthur Stewart, adjunct professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, will be inducted into the East Tennessee Literary Hall of Fame for poetry on October 10.
With the honor, Stewart joins other UT poets who have been inducted—Marilyn Kallet (director, Creative Writing Program; 2005 inductee), Arthur Smith (2007 inductee), Jeff Daniel Marion (poet in residence; 2006 inductee) and Linda Parsons Marion (UT Audit and Consulting Services; 2011 inductee).
Stewart published his first collection of poetry in 2003. He recently published his fourth book, containing sixty poems, titled The Ghost in the Word.
In a review of the book, Chemical & Engineering News said, “Stewart’s central idea is to remind scientists and poets that ambiguity can be a powerful driving force. Ambiguity is the lifeblood and basis of both science and poetry …. In science and in poetry, big things start from ambiguous little things bumping into each other.”
Stewart studied chemistry and biology, served in the Peace Corps in Ghana, earned a doctorate in aquatic ecology, and worked as a toxicologist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. His research focus is greenhouse gas emissions from hydroelectric power reservoirs. He subsequently earned a master’s degree in science education and serves as science education project manager for the Oak Ridge Associated Universities.
Stewart is one of five writers being inducted this year. The others are Academy Award and Golden Globe winner Quentin Tarantino, who was born in Knoxville, Lifetime Achievement Award; the late Karl Edward Wagner, a Knoxville-born science fiction/horror/heroic fantasy writer, fiction; News Sentinel sportswriter John Adams, nonfiction; and Mark Schaefer, founder of Social Slam, who was named the 2011 Global Twitter User of the Year by TweetSmarter, for social media.
For more information about the East Tennessee Literary Hall of Fame and the induction ceremony, visit Knoxville.org.
—
C O N T A C T :
Amy Blakely (865-974-5034, ablakely@utk.edu)