81R6561 MG-D
By: Creighton H.R. No. 509
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, The Texas Commission on the Arts has named David
Mercier Parsons of Conroe a finalist in the competition for state
poet laureate; and
WHEREAS, After graduating from Austin High School, Dave
Parsons went on to serve in the U.S. Marine Corps and to earn a
bachelor's degree from Texas State University; he worked in
advertising and marketing until he left the corporate world behind
to explore his passion for poetry; in 1985, he went abroad to study
with the writer and National Book Award finalist Stanley Plumly
through the University of Houston's London program, and he later
received the National Endowment for the Humanities Dante Fellowship
to the State University of New York; on returning to Texas, he began
teaching for the Willis Independent School District, and he resumed
his studies at the University of Houston, earning a master's degree
in creative writing and literature in 1991; and
WHEREAS, Since making the decision to pursue the arts as a
profession, Mr. Parsons has published four books of poetry, The
Retail Representative; Life, Love, and the Pursuit of Happiness;
Editing Sky; and Color of Mourning; his poems have also been
featured in various journals and magazines, including the Texas
Review, the Touchstone Literary Review, the New Review Poetry
Digest, and Louisiana Literature; and
WHEREAS, In addition to receiving favorable reviews from
scholarly journals and local newspapers, Mr. Parsons has earned
numerous accolades for his writing; in 1989, he won the
French/American Legation poetry prize for a piece published in
Standpoints: The Journal for Teachers of English in France, and in
1998 he was a finalist for the X. J. Kennedy Book Prize; the
following year, his book Editing Sky was the winner of the Texas
Review Poetry Prize and a finalist for the Violet Crown Book Award;
Mr. Parsons has also been invited to appear at the Texas Book
Festival, the Writers League of Texas Author's Gala, the Rice
University/University of Houston Reading Series, the Houston and
Austin Poetry Festivals, and many other events across the state;
and
WHEREAS, This esteemed poet has further contributed to the
arts by encouraging his fellow citizens to embrace and appreciate
literature; as a creative writing professor, he has cultivated the
talents of his students at Lone Star College-Montgomery for the
past 17 years; in 1993, he created the Montgomery County Literary
Arts Council Writers In Performance Series, through which he has
helped bring more than 100 distinguished authors to the area for
free readings and lectures, and he has sponsored events honoring
the poets Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman; he has also served on
the Conroe Commission on the Arts and Culture and the Houston Arts
Alliance Panel, and he was selected to teach the poetry workshop for
Inprint Inc.; moreover, he was named the Montgomery County poet
laureate for 2005 through 2010, a role that enables him to continue
advancing literary arts in his community; and
WHEREAS, In all of his endeavors, Mr. Parsons enjoys the love
and support of his wife, Nancy, and his four children, Robert,
Laura, Brandy, and Allison; and
WHEREAS, Through his poetry, teaching, and community
outreach, Dave Parsons has touched the lives of countless
individuals, and he may indeed reflect with great pride on the
positive impact he has had on the arts in Texas; now, therefore, be
it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 81st Texas
Legislature hereby congratulate David Mercier Parsons on his
nomination for Texas poet laureate and commend him on his
accomplished literary career; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
prepared for Mr. Parsons as an expression of high regard by the
Texas House of Representatives.