Applied Words: Unseen Worlds

Schubas Tavern
3159 N. Southport Ave.

FROM THE CURATOR, STEPHANIE LEVI, PhD:

I am delighted to be curating this month’s Applied Words series. The theme of Unseen Worlds stemmed from my experience as a microscopist originally. When I was working on my graduate degree, I did intensive light, fluorescence, and electron microscopy, which is a technique that enables one to look at microscopic objects at both high magnification and high resolution. I was captivated by the images I saw and collected, as well as the idea that there were worlds that were visible far beyond what our naked eye is capable of visualizing. Although we can’t see them unaided they still exist, and they are captivating, inspiring us to think about life at scales that we aren’t able to see. Analagously, when we view the Earth from space, it looks like a blue marble, but those of us here know that there are high peaks and deep depths, and that the planet is teeming with life. I’ve often thought about the secret lives of the objects and living things at the microscopic level —what are there love stories, their dramas, their routines?

These ideas and images were the spark for the theme, and beyond this, I was intrigued by the many subcontexts of the theme as well. There are communities of people who can’t necessarily access science easily or are underrepresented in STEM, and I see the theme as an opportunity to highlight these communities and populations, understand the connection between science and social justice, and support their engagement and interest in science and math. The theme also crosses disciplines, exploring how science and the arts and humanities intersect, and what happens when they do.

In putting the group of readers together, I sought to feature scientists as writers, and science-curious artists to explore the union of the two. My hope is that attendees and the general public leave the event with a better appreciation of scientists as artists in their own right, cultural creators who offer comment on our shared experience from vantages not normally witnessed.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

Jotham (Joe) Austin, II, was born and raised in Philadelphia, PA. He received his BS in Biology from Penn State University-Behrend, but when not in the lab he was busy writing short stories and poems. He attended graduate school at Arizona State University, where he received his PhD in Botany. One could say his love of writing continued to blossom: Joe started reading his poems at coffeehouses and small venues around Tempe, AZ, and eventually formed a poetry/music combo with Robbie Roberson, director of Electron Microscopy. After taking a Postdoctoral position in Microscopy in Boulder, CO, he made his way to Chicago where he currently is Director of the University of Chicago’s Electron Microscopy Core Facility. Joe returned to creative writing after tearing his Achilles tendon, finishing his first novel, Pretty Small Things. He now knows the true meaning of rejection as he chases publication, but everyone loves his homebrew.

Paul Gorski majored in biology and chemistry before taking a job as a technical copywriter. After coordinating his marketing department’s move to digital publishing in the early ‘90s, he moved on to develop and support digital publishing systems used by ad agencies, newspapers and publishers. Paul currently supports publishing workflows at the American Dental Association in Chicago. He also writes two weekly columns for The Rock River Times newspaper in Rockford, where he lives with his wife and children. Somewhere between Chicago and Rockford he pauses long enough to manage www.nwuchicago.org, the National Writers Union–Chicago website.

Vojislav Pejović (“voice-love peyovich”) is a neurobiologist by training and earns his living as a medical writer. In 2008, he published a critically acclaimed novel in his native Montenegro, and in 2010, translations of Charles Simic’s poetry in Serbo-Croatian. He also wrote a couple of movie scripts. His current project is a collection of stories in English and Serbo-Croatian. He lives in Evanston with his wife and their two sons.

Anne K. Yoder is a staff writer for the online literary magazine The Millions and is the co-editrix of Projecttile, a journal of nontraditional writing with a feminist bent. When she’s not dealing in words, she’s dealing in pharmaceuticals, legally. She’s a registered pharmacist in three states and she’s moonlighted as a hospital pharmacist for over ten years to support her writing habit. Her fiction, nonfiction, and criticism have appeared in Fence, Bomb, and Tin House, among other publications.

ABOUT THE CURATOR:

Stephanie Levi received her Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology at the University of Chicago, and created a variety of science outreach, communication and mentoring opportunities during her pre-doctoral years. After completing her Ph.D., she centered her career at the nexus of science, outreach, education and communication, focusing on improving student recruitment, retention and success in the sciences, technology, engineering and math (STEM), particularly underrepresented students, first generation and low income students, and individuals with disabilities. Her impact has led to programmatic success and student achievement at a variety of venues, including the Midwest’s only four-year Hispanic-Serving Institution, a national non-profit, local youth-serving organizations, museums and libraries, among others.  Public education and outreach with science, technology, engineering and math are critical components of her professional interests, particularly as they focus on adults. She is the creator of Night Lab and Science is Sexy, public outreach initiatives to build a bridge between the scientific community and the general public to foster public education, engagement and interest in science.

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