H.R. No. 2417
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, David M. Parsons of Conroe has been named Texas Poet
Laureate for 2011; and
WHEREAS, Each year, the Texas Commission on the Arts selects
an official state poet to serve for a year and act as an ambassador
for the art of poetry across the Lone Star State; and
WHEREAS, Throughout his varied career as a businessman,
coach, and educator, Dave Parsons has always written poetry; he
studied creative writing in graduate school at the University of
Houston, and in 1992, he joined the faculty at Lone Star
College-Montgomery as a creative writing professor; since 2006, he
has also served the school as an adjunct professor of kinesiology
and as the handball coach; and
WHEREAS, Professor Parsons has published several volumes of
verse, including Editing Sky, which won the Texas Review Poetry
Prize, and Color of Mourning; he is the recipient of a National
Endowment for the Humanities Dante Fellowship, the French/American
Legation Poetry Prize, and the Baskerville Publishers Poetry Award;
the poet laureate of Montgomery County from 2005 to 2010, he
cofounded the Montgomery County Literary Arts Council Writers in
Performance Series in 1993 and continues to serve as the group's
co-program director; and
WHEREAS, Dave Parsons is a distinctive voice in American
poetry and a leading member of the Texas literary community, and he
is indeed a worthy choice for this prestigious honor; now,
therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 82nd Texas
Legislature hereby congratulate David M. Parsons on his appointment
as 2011 Texas Poet Laureate and extend to him sincere best wishes
for a rewarding year; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
prepared for Professor Parsons as an expression of high regard by
the Texas House of Representatives.
Eissler
______________________________
Speaker of the House
I certify that H.R. No. 2417 was adopted by the House on May
30, 2011, by a non-record vote.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House