David M. Parsons Explained

David M. Parsons
Birth Name:David Mercier Parsons
Birth Date:16 April 1943
Birth Place:Villa Rica, Georgia, U.S.
Occupation:Author and Educator
Education:Texas State University, University of Houston
Known For:Poet Laureate of Texas, 2011
Notable Works:Feathering Deep, Reaching for Longer Water
Website:http://www.daveparsonspoetry.com/

David Mercier Parsons was born on April 16, 1943, in Villa Rica, Georgia, and is an American author, poet, and educator. Raised in Austin, Texas, he was named by the Texas State Legislature in 2011 to a one-year term as Poet Laureate of Texas,[1] commemorated by the publication of David M. Parsons New & Selected Poems by the Texas Christian University Press. His most recent book is the poetry collection Reaching for Longer Water (Texas Review Press). Parsons holds a BBA from Texas State University and an MA from the University of Houston’s Creative Writing Program where he studied poetry and literature with Edward Hirsch, Stanley Plumly, Richard Howard, Robert Pinsky and Howard Moss.

Parsons is a professor at Lone Star College-Montgomery where he teaches English and Creative Writing. He is a founder and program director of Writers in Performance[2] , a monthly reading series in partnership with the non-profit Montgomery County Literary Arts Council which he founded and co-directs.[3] The Commissioners Court of Montgomery County, Texas, named him County Poet Laureate in 2005 for a five-year term.[4] In 2013, the City of Conroe, Texas, recognized Parsons with a bronze bust in the town’s Founders Plaza.[5] In 2019, his poem, “The Texian,” was installed in bronze at Lone Star Monument & Historical Flag Park in Conroe, Texas.[6]

Every year since 1994 Parsons has hosted birthday celebrations in Conroe, Texas, for the poets Emily Dickinson[7] and Walt Whitman featuring presentations from scholars and readings by regional and nationally recognized poets.[8] Scholar Michael Robertson notes the yearly Whitman gathering in his work Worshiping Walt: The Whitman Disciples (Princeton University Press).[9]

Parsons served in the United States Marine Corps both active duty and Reserve for eight years, becoming a Squad Leader and Recon Boat Team Leader.[10] He developed a creative writing course specifically for veterans and their families at Lone Star College-Montgomery in 2015.[11]

Charles Ealy, writing in the Austin American Statesman, says of the collection Reaching for Longer Water "David M. Parsons . . . takes us back to the Austin of his youth in his latest collection of verse. But he writes about his youth with a striking clarity that veers far from sentimentality."[12]

Poet Ange Mlinko writes of Parsons and his work, “It is deeply informed by English and American literature. There is no artificial barrier between art and life, love and intellect. The Renaissance man was once a courtly ideal; Parsons shows that it is a democratic ideal too—warm-blooded, muscular, as companionable on the page as in the flesh.”[13]

Parsons was elected to membership in the Texas Institute of Letters in 2009.[14]

Works

Honors and awards

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The Three Beginnings of a Texas Poet Laureate . 2012-06-28. Arts and Culture Texas. en-US. 2020-05-08.
  2. Web site: Writers in Performance. www.lonestar.edu. 2020-05-08.
  3. Web site: Montgomery County Literary Arts Council. Montgomery County Literary Arts Council. en-US. 2020-05-08.
  4. Web site: Poet laureate Parsons Conroe's Renaissance man. Montgomery. Robin. 2020-04-03. The Courier. 2020-05-08.
  5. Web site: Conroe Founders Plaza - Conroe, TX - Municipal Parks and Plazas on Waymarking.com. www.waymarking.com. 2020-05-08.
  6. Web site: Poem 'The Texian' to be displayed at historical flag park in Conroe. Dominguez. Catherine. 2018-02-24. The Courier. 2020-05-08.
  7. Web site: 12.2.18 News Briefs - "Poets Gather in Conroe Dec. 6 to Celebrate Emily Dickinson's Birthday". 2018-12-31. Lone Star Literary Life. en. 2020-05-11.
  8. Web site: Lone Star College-Montgomery Celebrates Walt Whitman: the First Hippie. montgomerycountynews.net. 2020-05-11.
  9. Book: Robertson, Michael. Worshiping Walt: The Whitman Disciples. Princeton University Press. 2008. 978-0691128085. 287–88.
  10. Web site: Interview with Texas State Poet Laureate, Dave Parsons. Calliope. Spring 2012. Inkling Magazine - Lone Star College-Tomball. 2020-05-09.
  11. Web site: Veterans find inner artist through creative writing at Lone Star College-Montgomery. Report. Community. 2015-07-14. The Courier. 2020-05-09.
  12. Web site: A tribute to Lewis Carroll's photography — and new poetry by Parsons. Ealy. Charles. Austin American-Statesman. en. 2020-05-09.
  13. Book: Parsons, David. Feathering Deep. Texas Christian University Press. 2012. 978-1933896809. Back cover.
  14. Web site: Texas Institute of Letters: Active Members. www.texasinstituteofletters.org. 2020-05-08.

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