Michael Pearson (author) explained

Birth Name:	Michael Patrick Pearson
Birth Date:	18 June 1949
Occupation:	Writer
Alma Mater:	Fordham University University of San Francisco Pennsylvania State University

Michael Patrick Pearson (born June 18, 1949) is an American author of hundreds of essays^[1] and eight books — a novel, Shohola Falls (2003),^{[2] [3]} and seven works of non-fiction; Imagined Places: Journeys into Literary America (a New York Times Notable Book of 1992),^{[4] [5]} A Place That's Known: Essays (1994), John McPhee (1997), Dreaming of Columbus: A Boyhood in the Bronx^{[6] [7]} (1999), Innocents Abroad Too: Journeys Around the World on Semester at Sea^[8] (2008), Reading Life: On Books, Memory and Travel (2015), The Road to Dungannon: Journeys in Literary Ireland (2023).^[9]

Early Life

Pearson was born and grew up in the Bronx. He went to St. Philip Neri Elementary School, Mount St. Michael High School, and Fordham University. In 1971, after he married Jo-Ellen Kiernan and they moved to California, he received a Master’s Degree from the University of San Francisco. For two years (1972-1974), he taught in a Bronx junior high school. From 1974 to 1977, he studied at the Pennsylvania State University, where he received his doctorate in English and American literature.

He then taught at Auburn University in Alabama, LaGrange College in Georgia, and for 32 years at Old Dominion University in Virginia. From 1997 to 2006, he directed the MFA Program in Creative Writing at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. He is currently a full-time writer, working on both nonfiction and fiction projects.

Bibliography

Non-fiction books

• Imagined Places: Journeys into Literary America. Henry Holt. 1992. . Reprint: University of Georgia Press. 1996.
• A Place That’s Known: Essays. University of Georgia Press. 1994. .
• John McPhee. Twayne Publishers. 1997. .
• Dreaming of Columbus: A Boyhood in the Bronx. University of Georgia Press. 1999. .
• Innocents Abroad Too: Journeys Around the World on Semester at Sea. University of Virginia Press. 2008. .
• Reading Life: On Books, Memory and Travel. Mercer University Press. 2015. .
• The Road to Dungannon: Journeys in Literary Ireland. Mercer University Press. 2023. .

Novels

• Shohola Falls. Akashic Books. 2003. .

Notes and References

1. Gardner . C. A. . Virginia Libraries . 2005-08-01 . The Locus of the Imagination: An Interview with Michael Pearson . en . 51 . 2 . 10.21061/valib.v51i2.968 . free .
2. Book: Rasmussen, R. Kent. Critical companion to Mark Twain: a literary reference to his life and work. October 9, 2010. 2007. Infobase Publishing. 978-0-8160-5398-8. 1036.
3. Web site: Interview with Michael Pearson . 2023-01-25 . Creative Nonfiction . en-US.
4. News: Howarth . William . 1992-02-16 . Where The Wild Writers Were . en-US . The New York Times . 2023-03-17 . 0362-4331.
5. News: 1992-12-06 . Notable Books of the Year 1992 . en-US . The New York Times . 2023-01-25 . 0362-4331.
6. News: 1999-12-12 . NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT: NEW YORK BOOKSHELF; The Bronx Is Up: Three Whose Journey Began There . en-US . The New York Times . 2023-03-17 . 0362-4331.
7. Web site: This Point in Space and Time (on The Boy with the Thorn in His Side: A Memoir by Keith Fleming; Honky by Dalton Conley; Dreaming of Columbus: A Boyhood in the Bronx by Michael Pearson; Winning the Dust Bowl by Carter Revard; and Cidermaster of Rio Oscura by Harvey Frauenglass) – The Georgia Review . 2023-03-17 . thegeorgiareview.com . en-US.
8. Web site: [Innocents Abroad Too] C-SPAN.org ]. 2023-03-17 . www.c-span.org.
9. Web site: ODU Prof Michael Pearson Looks Inward for Seventh Book. Old Dominion University. en-us. July 13, 2019.