Why You Should Collect Steven Swiryn
Atticus Review is proud to present The Deep Field, astronomical nonfiction
For the second NFT of our 2026 season, we offer you “The Deep Field,” a thought-provoking foray into the stars, space, time, and our seemingly small, but not insignificant, roles in the universe. This absorbing piece of creative nonfiction was authored by Steven Swiryn, an emerging writer with a passion for astronomy and music. “The Deep Field” is accompanied by fantastic artwork from illustrator Adriana Quezada. Click on The Deep Field button below to see five different illustrated versions.
A few weeks ago, Boo Trundle and I sat down over Zoom with Steven, a retired cardiologist, to talk about his career, his interests, and his refreshing scientific essay, "The Deep Field." It was a far-reaching conversation covering topics such as his medical and astronomy backgrounds, his perspective on coming to writing later in life (he is 78), his experience at Breadloaf, and the importance of writer groups. We also took some side-roads into physics, the problems with aging in America, and of course NFTs. It was a real pleasure to chat with Steven and get to know him. Steven's story is a great example of how a person can pivot and become a great writer in their second chapter of life. As a 52-year-old who increasingly feels past his literary prime, I felt quite edified by the conversation.
Take a listen for yourself. We think it'll give you plenty of reasons for why you should collect Steven Swiryn.
In Steven’s own words:
“I’m not religious, but I think of myself as a spiritual person. I look up at the night sky and it’s not all science for me. It’s wonder. And it’s amazement. There’s a tendency for people to think, oh, it makes you very small. But I don’t think it makes me small.”
Support our Artists (and Decentralized Finance)!
You can show support for Steven and Adriana by purchasing one of the NFTs from this collection. When you buy an NFT using your crypto wallet, funds are split evenly three ways to Steven, Adriana, and Atticus Review. Funds are delivered immediately to these three wallets and aren’t routed through any corporate third-parties such as Visa/Mastercard, a government, or a big bank.
If you’re thinking, but I don’t know how to get a crypto wallet, well, we have tutorials to guide you through that on our website.
To learn more about our new publishing model you can read our past newsletters and our blog.
Here’s our latest podcast with our interview with Steven:
And if you’ve never seen the famous Hubble “Deep Field” image, we’ve included it below. There’s a reason why it has it’s distinctive L-shape (or stair-step shape) in the top right quadrant of the image, and it has to do with how Hubble's “Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2” (WFPC2) was designed. We would relay to you the details, but we think it’s rather long and complicated and, most importantly, we do not fully understand it, so we trust that if you’re curious about it, you will seek answers from the AI Gods.
Thanks for reading. Keep making good things.
David Olimpio
Publisher
Atticus Review