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Chet Raymo

チェット・レイモ

Chet Raymo

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1936-09-17 （Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States）
Nationality
American
Languages
English
Religion
Religious naturalism
Residence History
Chattanooga, Tennessee (birthplace) → Easton, Massachusetts (Stonehill College)

Career

Occupations
Professor, Writer, Naturalist, Columnist
Active Years
1982-
Affiliations
Stonehill College

Awards

Lannan Literary Award
1998
Work: Skeptics and True Believers
Organization: Lannan Foundation
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

365 Starry Nights

1982 Astronomy / Essays

A collection of essays about the night sky and astronomy, blending everyday observation with scientific explanation.

night skyastronomynature observation

Biography of a Planet

1984 Science essays

A book of scientific and essayistic reflections on Earth and planets.

earth sciencenatural history

The Soul of the Night

1985 Nature essays

Essays containing philosophical and scientific meditations on night and the universe.

nightuniversereligious naturalism

The Dork of Cork

1993 Novel

A novel about a young man's growth and adventures; one of Raymo's best-known works of fiction.

coming of ageadventurehumor
Adaptations
  • [Film] Frankie Starlight

Walking Zero

2006 Travelogue / Scientific history

A record of walking along the Prime Meridian, exploring history and science through the journey.

journeygeodesyhistory

When God Is Gone, Everything Is Holy

2008 Religious essays

A work arguing for religious naturalism and discussing the relationship between faith and nature.

religious naturalismfaith and science

Bibliography

  • 365 Starry Nights
  • Biography of a Planet
  • The Soul of the Night
  • Honey from Stone
  • In the Falcon's Claw
  • The Virgin and the Mousetrap: Essays in Search of the Soul of Science
  • The Dork of Cork
  • Skeptics and True Believers
  • Natural Prayers
  • An Intimate Look at the Night Sky
  • The Path
  • Climbing Brandon
  • Valentine
  • Walking Zero
  • When God Is Gone, Everything Is Holy

Adaptations

  • Frankie Starlight (film adaptation of the novel 'The Dork of Cork')

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Clear, lyrical essayistic style that links nature and scienceEducational tone that explains technical knowledge accessibly
Recurring Motifs
night skynature observationreligious naturalismscientific skepticism

Legacy

Chet Raymo is known as an educator and writer on science and nature who influenced public understanding through essays and columns. As Professor Emeritus at Stonehill College he promoted religious naturalism and popular scientific literacy.

Quotes

  • For the Religious Naturalist, darkness and silence are not the paradox, they are the resolution. ... We try to stay firmly on the side of skepticism, open to whatever winds of wisdom blow our way, and as for knowledge of the world, we cherish the scientific way of knowing—tentative, partial, evolving.
    Source: Chet Raymo blog (quoted from January 22, 2013 post) (2013)

Trivia

  • Wrote the weekly newspaper column "Science Musings" for the Boston Globe from 1983 to 2003.
  • The novel 'The Dork of Cork' served as the basis for the film 'Frankie Starlight'.
  • Received the Lannan Literary Award in 1998 for non-fiction work.
  • Served as a professor (Professor Emeritus) at Stonehill College.