TITLE: Congratulating Dave Parsons of Conroe on being named Texas Poet Laureate for 2011.

SUMMARY: Congratulating Dave Parsons of Conroe on being named Texas Poet Laureate for 2011.

FULL TEXT:
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