David Mercier Parsons was born on April 16, 1943, in

Villa Rica, Georgia Villa Rica (Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese translation: Rich Village) is a city in Carroll and Douglas counties in the U.S. state of Georgia. Villa Rica is placed in the Atlanta metropolitan area. Additionally, there are unincorporated area ...

, and is an American author, poet, and educator. Raised in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

, he was named by the Texas State Legislature in 2011 to a one-year term as Poet Laureate of Texas, commemorated by the publication of ''David M. Parsons New & Selected Poems'' by the

Texas Christian University Press Texas Christian University Press (or TCU Press) is a university press A university press is an academic publishing house specializing in monographs and scholarly journals. They are often an integral component of a large research university. Th ...

. His most recent book is the poetry collections are ''Reaching for Longer Water'' (

Texas Review Press Texas Review Press is a university press affiliated with Sam Houston State University, located in Huntsville, Texas. The press, which was founded in 1979, publishes the ''Texas Review'' (a periodical specializing in poetry, fiction, and creative n ...

)'' and "Austin Relativity: Coming of Age in the '60s" (TCU Press).'' Parsons holds a BBA from

Texas State University Texas State University (TXST) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in San Marcos, Texas, United States, and another campus in Round Rock, Texas, Round Rock. Since its establishment in 1899, the university has ...

and an MA from the University of Houston’s Creative Writing Program where he studied poetry and literature with

Edward Hirsch Edward M. Hirsch (born January 20, 1950) is an American poet and critic who wrote a national bestseller about reading poetry. He has published nine books of poems, including ''The Living Fire: New and Selected Poems'' (2010), which brings toget ...

, Stanley Plumly,

Richard Howard Richard Joseph Howard (October 13, 1929 – March 31, 2022), adopted as Richard Joseph Orwitz, was an American poet, literary critic, essayist, teacher, and translator. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and was a graduate of Columbia University, ...

Robert Pinsky Robert Pinsky (born October 20, 1940) is an American poet, essayist, literary critic, and translator. He was the first United States Poet Laureate to serve three terms. Recognized worldwide, Pinsky's work has earned numerous accolades. Pinsky ...

and

Howard Moss Howard Moss (January 22, 1922 – September 16, 1987) was an American poet, dramatist and critic. He was poetry editor of ''The New Yorker'' magazine from 1948 until his death and he won the National Book Award in 1972 for ''Selected Poems''. B ...

. 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','' a monthly reading series in partnership with the non-profit Montgomery County Literary Arts Council which he founded and co-directs. The Commissioners Court of

Montgomery County, Texas Montgomery County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 620,443, and was estimated to be 749,613 in 2024. Its county seat is Conroe. Montgomery County is part of the Houston–The Woodlands–Sug ...

, named him County Poet Laureate in 2005 for a five-year term. In 2013, the City of

Conroe, Texas Conroe is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Texas, Montgomery County, Texas, United States, about north of Houston. It is a principal city in the metropolitan area. As of 2024, the population was 114,581. Since 2007, t ...

, recognized Parsons with a bronze bust in the town’s Founders Plaza. In 2019, his poem, “The Texian,” was installed in bronze at Lone Star Monument & Historical Flag Park in Conroe, Texas. Every year since 1994 Parsons has hosted birthday celebrations in Conroe, Texas, for the poets

Emily Dickinson Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886) was an American poet. Little-known during her life, she has since been regarded as one of the most important figures in American poetry. Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massac ...

and

Walt Whitman Walter Whitman Jr. (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist, and journalist; he also wrote two novels. He is considered one of the most influential poets in American literature and world literature. Whitman incor ...

featuring presentations from scholars and readings by regional and nationally recognized poets. Scholar Michael Robertson notes the yearly Whitman gathering in his work ''Worshiping Walt: The Whitman Disciples'' (

Princeton University Press Princeton University Press is an independent publisher with close connections to Princeton University. Its mission is to disseminate scholarship within academia and society at large. The press was founded by Whitney Darrow, with the financial ...

)''.'' 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. He developed a creative writing course specifically for veterans and their families at Lone Star College-Montgomery in 2015. Charles Ealy, writing in the ''

Austin American Statesman The ''Austin American-Statesman'' is the major daily newspaper for Austin, the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is owned by Hearst Communications. The distribution of the following ''The New York Times'', ''The Washington Post'', ''As ...

'', 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." Poet

Ange Mlinko Ange Mlinko (born September 19, 1969 in Philadelphia) is an American poet and critic. The author of six books of poetry, Mlinko was named a Guggenheim Fellow for 2014–15. She teaches poetry at the University of Florida, where she directs the MFA ...

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.” Parsons was elected to membership in the

Texas Institute of Letters The Texas Institute of Letters is a non-profit Honor Society founded by William Harvey Vann in 1936 to celebrate Texas literature and to recognize distinctive literary achievement. The TIL’s elected membership consists of the state’s most resp ...

in 2009.

Works

* ''Editing Sky,'' (Texas Review Press, 1999. ) * ''Color of Mourning'', (Texas Review Press, 2005. ) * ''Feathering Deep'', (Texas Review Press, 2012 ) * ''David M. Parsons New & Selected Poems'', (Texas Christian University Press, 2012. ) * ''Reaching for Longer Water'', (Texas Review Press, 2015. ) * ''Far Out: Poems 978-0-87565-907-7}of the 60’s,'' (co-edited with Wendy Barker), (Wings Press, 2016. ) * ''Austin Relativity:Coming of Age in the '60s,''(TCU Press,2025. }

Honors and awards

* San Miguel Literary Salo, Featured Poet, San Miguel, Mexico, 2017 * Lamar University MFA Program, Featured Poet, Beaumont, Texas, 2015 * Lone Star College System Writing Award, 2012 * 2011 Texas State Poet Laureate, Texas Commission on the Arts, Texas Legislature * Final Judge, 2010 Robert Phillips Chapbook Competition, Texas Review Press * Dave Parsons Day, Conroe City Council, 2011 * Acclaimed Poet Laureate for Montgomery County 2005-2010 (Montgomery County, Texas, Commissioner’s Court) * Elected to The Texas Institute of Letters, 2009 * Houston Arts Alliance Panel, Individual Artist Jury, Creative Writing, 2008 * Houston Arts Alliance Panel, Creative Writing, 2007 * North Harris Montgomery County College District Writing Award, 2006 * Baskerville Publishers Poetry Prize, ''descant'' (Texas Christian University), 2006 * North Harris Montgomery County College District Writing Award, 2005 * North Harris Montgomery County College District Writing Award, 2001 * 2000 Violet Crown Book Award Special Citation, 2000 * 1999 Texas Review Poetry Prize * Finalist 1998 X.J. Kennedy Poetry Competition * Founder /Chairman Montgomery County Literary Arts Council, 1993–98, Chairman 2000-2003 * Finalist 1997 South & Southwestern Poetry Breakthrough Series * Elected by faculty to Willis High School Site-based Management Team, 1993–99 * French-American Legation Poetry Prize, 1987 * Joined United States Marine Corps April 1961; active duty until January, 1962; Reserve duty until Honorable Discharge, 1969 * Honorary Admiral In The Texas Navy, Governor Price Daniel, 1957 * Honorary Texan, Governor Alan Shivers, 1955 *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parsons, David M. Living people People from Villa Rica, Georgia American male poets Poets from Texas Texas State University alumni University of Houston alumni Poets laureate of Texas 1943 births 20th-century American writers 20th-century American poets 21st-century American writers 21st-century American poets United States Marines