Words, Words, Words, (Reprise):
An Introduction to this Festschrift

Many of our return readers will recognize Walt Hearn's name from the many wonderful essays he has written for this magazine from its very first online edition. Walt has been a member of the American Scientific Affiliation for over sixty-five years (that is over twice as long as I've been alive) and was the ASA's beloved newsletter editor for twenty of them.
 
To claim that Walt has a unique style of writing would be a sizeable understatement. To say that his contributions to the ASA have been substantial would be another. Behind the scenes, Walt's "in-house editor" and "chuckle-meter" provider, Ginny Hearn, helps Walt craft and correct the writings that have made the Hearn name fond and familiar to so many ASAers through the years—including many who have never met the intrepid pair in person.

Walt and Ginny’s love for language comes through in all their writings, so it seems appropriate that when honoring their work and generosity, such an act would take the form of a festschrift, a small volume of literary writings dedicated to a person of letters. That’s what this edition of God & Nature attempts to be. But more than a vessel for thanks and remembrances, the contributions herein hope to speak to greater truths—especially to the idea that without language we would have no faith and indeed, no science. In order to be known and shared, the truths of science and religion must be communicated, and this communication can take many forms.
 
Sometimes, attempts to communicate take the straightforward shape of simple statements and equations, eschewing abstraction and decoration. The plain style has its place, but more experiential forms of writing—where readers are invited to dwell in the sound of rhythmic or alliterative phrases, to enjoy the pleasures of a well-turned metaphor—these types of communicative acts can inspire both understanding and inspiration. The humble joys of making sentences that stir the soul is what calls many writers to their craft, and readers will find no better example than that of Walt Hearn, who once upon a time fell so in love with words (and a certain vivacious editor of the female variety) that he turned from a successful career in laboratory science to spend more time with them. Please join us in thanking these two irreplaceable people of God by reading a few essays and poems that endeavor to capture and communicate something of the spirit that has made them so extraordinary and beloved.

~ your Eager Young Editor ("E.Y.E," ay, Captain!),  Emily Ruppel

Emily Ruppel is a PhD student in communication at the University of Pittsburgh, with focus areas in rhetoric of science, bioethics, STS, feminist theory, and oral history.

Prior to her doctoral work, Emily studied poetry at Bellarmine University in Louisville (B.A. '08) and science writing at MIT (M.S. '11). She has spent several years working as a professional writer and editor for academic and popular outlets; among them, God & Nature magazine is a favorite project.