Written by LMU Student Caleb Hardy
Lincoln Memorial University (LMU) associate professor of English Patrick Wensink, released a nonfiction book in November examining the 2014 toxic algae crisis in Lake Erie.
The Great Black Swamp: Toxic Algae, Toxic Relationships, and the Most Interesting Place Nobody’s Ever Heard Of explored how harmful algae contamination shut down Toledo, Ohio’s drinking water system for three days.
The book received significant recognition, including a starred review from Publishers Weekly and selection on InsideHook’s list of “10 Books You Must Read This November.”
With support from university grant funding, Wensink collaborated with scientists and ecologists to research the environmental disaster. Drawing on his background as a fiction writer, he translated complex scientific information into a narrative accessible to a broader audience.
“I discovered there really weren’t any books about it, and what was out there was hard to understand,” Wensink said. “This was a very underrepresented issue and an underrepresented part of the world.”
Wensink, a native of Toledo, said his personal connection to the region influenced the project. His family has farmed in the area since the 1890s, and he aimed to examine both the environmental crisis and its ties to local life.
Following the book’s release, Wensink promoted his work in Tennessee and Ohio. He held a reading at Union Ave. Books in Knoxville in January and later participated in a reading for the Black Swamp Conservancy fundraiser in Toledo. He also led a writing workshop at the James Agee Conference hosted by Pellissippi State Community College in February.
For more information, visit Wensink’s website or contact him at patrick.wensink@lmunet.edu.
Lincoln Memorial University is a values-based learning community dedicated to providing educational experiences in the liberal arts and professional studies. The university’s main campus is located in Harrogate, Tennessee. For more information about undergraduate and graduate programs, contact the Office of Admissions at 423-869-6280 or email admissions@lmunet.edu.
