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| March, 2007* ... during a 4C's Convention |
Any innocent, unsuspecting soul who happens to inquire about his Thesis project will first be regaled with tales of woe regarding his first-- unapproved-- topic proposal: the collaborative writing methodology and history of Fritz Lang and Thea von Harbou. Then, the increasingly glassy-eyed conversationalist can expect to hear what Tim calls his "brief" (but admittedly somewhat manically enthusiastic) recounting of the accepted and approved work completed in July of 2003: "Author. Author! Aspects of Metafiction in the Autobiographical Works of Eddie Campbell."
To be forewarned is to be forearmed.
He remains active in the field of professional writing, editing and photography, providing input on workplace marketing, customer support and documentation materials and has a record of published articles going back to 1985 (that first piece was written on a Kaypro II computer ... Is he kidding? No. No, he is not.) and freelance editorial assignments which have included work for a Northeast Georgia regional magazine and an area educational software company as well as scholarly writing and editing for colleagues, various campus community colleagues, and for a national online journal of the ascd.org. Other creative and professional writing outlets included work as a writer/managing editor of a ministry and education resource Website group and several blog-based pet projects and co-host "The Vault," a podcast interview program focused on technology-informed Christian service and leadership.
He is currently revising his book manuscript, "It Is Written: the Bible as a Guide to Writing" and maintains memberships in Sigma Tau Delta, the Academy of American Poets, not to mention the fact that he was recently invited to take his place on the rolls of honor in the prestigious and exclusive group known as the AARP.
Areas of special research interest include research and writing on film studies and film-making, graphic novels and comic strips, photography and poetic non-fiction, memoir, technology-driven journalism and multi-media art, critical analysis and literary theory, cultural literacy, apologetics, as well as biblical principles and other types of wisdom literature, especially as they relate to theories of life-long learning, research, documentations and composition.
He got his first "real job" when he was 11 years old, working as summer help at a roadside vegetable stand. Initial strangers evidently saw something worthwhile in his efforts on the little league baseball fields of Shelbyville, Indiana (and he has been paying for his own Pepsi ever since ... mostly). The trajectory of his merely-metaphorically meteoric rise from there to his limited physical stature and business-world accomplishments took a labyrinthine course through stints as a "master" dishwasher at a family friend's pizza place (7th-8th grade), farm-hand (pigs and beans!), drug-store and grocery store help, church camp lifeguard, 3rd shift janitor, telemarketing fundraiser, rental housing property manager, fine dining waiter and table-side chef, part-time youth minister, insurance and securities salesman, medical mission service trip volunteer, financial printing customer service and production staff, online medical transcriptionist, SAT exam grader, satellite television and home theater installer, home appliance and furniture installer, traveling seminar support staff, successful amateur lumberjack, cable television collections/recovery technician, restaurant manager, production worker, production manager and quality control manager for the aforementioned 3D printing company ... the list could go on, but should it, really?
His work history is not exactly Jack London-esque in adventure romanticism, but, thankfully, he did not pick up London's legendary drinking problem along the way. "So he's got that goin' for him, which is nice." His academic, teaching, editing, research, mission and ministry career work is seasoned with a bit of flavor from each of these catch-as-catch-can, needful to the moment experiences.
Mr. Stark has a deep admiration and passion for writers, writers-in-the-making, and texts of all kinds and continues his efforts to learn and grow as an educator (in person and online), editor/writer, mentor of writers, researcher, critic/analyst-- an individual committed to making, to the best of his ability and energy, a positive difference in his community and circles of influence.
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“Look,” says the Teacher. “Here’s what I’ve discovered. I added one thing to another to find out everything I could about wisdom." --Ecclesiastes 7:27
"Always considered writing my duty on earth." --Jack Kerouac, intro to Lonesome Traveler
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* This pic is still his bio choice after all these years-- bad haircut, cheap fleece jacket and all-- because the person who took this candid, hey-look-here shot was not at all conscious of the Pepsi-on-Tim's-brain symbolism happening ... It is accepted with gratitude and good will as a little moment of existential validation and as proof that there is a Intelligent and Interactive Sense of Humor at work in the universe.
