Mick Parsons
Encyclopedia
Mick Parsons is an American poet
, novelist, short story
writer, essayist, and journalist
. He is the author of six books. Three of them are Dead Machine E/Ditions: In The Great World (small) (his first novel),Conversations with Carlo (a collection of poetry), and The Greyhound Quarto (a small piece of non-fiction
). The other three: Living Broke: Short Stories, and two collections of poetry, Lines from Another Book of Common Prayer and Fragments of Unidentifiable Form were published by Publish America. His work has been featured on semantikon.com and has appeared in The Dispatch Litareview, The American Mythville Review, The Smoking Poet, and Antique Children. Parsons is currently the Cigar Lounge Editor for The Smoking Poet. He maintains a regular blog, deadmachinefictions.com, and write sometimes at The Ohio Expatriate.
He has been a teacher
, a factory worker, a file clerk, a small press
publisher (The One Legged Cow Press) and a lifelong layabout. He is currently a freelance writer in Northwest Illinois.
, is written in a series of interconnected episodes. Written in first person from the point of view of an unnamed young man in his mid-20's, the novel is an exploration of the American Dream
in the 21st. The narrator is unapologetic, rude, lazy, occasionally noble, generally a coward, and always his own worst enemy. He’s somehow managed to create a comfortable – if shaky – bubble of comfort in Phoenix
after being displaced by Hurricane Katrina
. He lives in a cheap motel; he hangs out at the MTP Sports Bar and Grill – when he has money – and drinks in his room when he doesn’t. He scrapes by on day labor and a short-term work ethic
. He’s got no interest in regular work, going back to college, doing anything, or maintaining a relationship.
Through him we meet other people who are just as broken, though less aware of their situation, and we view the world the narrator lives in: a post 9/11 two-dimensional world without morality
or ethics
, where people get screwed over whether they do the right thing or not; a world of drug dealers, abused wives, manipulated boy toys, bookies, hookers, crooked cops, and a cocaine
-addled bar owner. All of them are, like the narrator, just looking for some kind of shaky comfort in the world; and, just like the narrator, unable to find it.
since the turn of the century. The characters are all trying to survive and get by in spite of living in a world where there is never enough, where hard work is not rewarded the way we are always told it will be, and where the divisions between the Haves and Have Nots are increasingly obvious. These are the In-Between People - the people who believed in the Middle Class American Dream and who have found it failing, but have nothing tangible to replace it with. The victories expressed are small and short lived, while the over arching machinations - institution, ambition, greed, loneliness, and isolation - are constants.
s and countryside that make us who we are, and from which we are ultimately unable to really escape. For Parsons, the only option is acceptance and the hope that transcendence is still possible in this day and age.
with the machinations of the outside world. By exploring the connections between these two seemingly isolated landscapes, the poems in this collection seek to outline a new geography—another continent to explore in a world that seems to be depleted, overworked, and left behind.
. Satirical, poetic, and insightful, this four piece essay will bring parts of America into focus that most people don't see.
Mick's Facebook Fan Page.
The Publish America website
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, novelist, short story
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
writer, essayist, and journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
. He is the author of six books. Three of them are Dead Machine E/Ditions: In The Great World (small) (his first novel),Conversations with Carlo (a collection of poetry), and The Greyhound Quarto (a small piece of non-fiction
Non-fiction
Non-fiction is the form of any narrative, account, or other communicative work whose assertions and descriptions are understood to be fact...
). The other three: Living Broke: Short Stories, and two collections of poetry, Lines from Another Book of Common Prayer and Fragments of Unidentifiable Form were published by Publish America. His work has been featured on semantikon.com and has appeared in The Dispatch Litareview, The American Mythville Review, The Smoking Poet, and Antique Children. Parsons is currently the Cigar Lounge Editor for The Smoking Poet. He maintains a regular blog, deadmachinefictions.com, and write sometimes at The Ohio Expatriate.
He has been a teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
, a factory worker, a file clerk, a small press
Small press
Small press is a term often used to describe publishers with annual sales below a certain level. Commonly, in the United States, this is set at $50 million, after returns and discounts...
publisher (The One Legged Cow Press) and a lifelong layabout. He is currently a freelance writer in Northwest Illinois.
In The Great World (small) (2010)
This debut novel, published exclusively as an e-bookE-book
An electronic book is a book-length publication in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, and produced on, published through, and readable on computers or other electronic devices. Sometimes the equivalent of a conventional printed book, e-books can also be born digital...
, is written in a series of interconnected episodes. Written in first person from the point of view of an unnamed young man in his mid-20's, the novel is an exploration of the American Dream
American Dream
The American Dream is a national ethos of the United States in which freedom includes a promise of the possibility of prosperity and success. In the definition of the American Dream by James Truslow Adams in 1931, "life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each...
in the 21st. The narrator is unapologetic, rude, lazy, occasionally noble, generally a coward, and always his own worst enemy. He’s somehow managed to create a comfortable – if shaky – bubble of comfort in Phoenix
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
after being displaced by Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
. He lives in a cheap motel; he hangs out at the MTP Sports Bar and Grill – when he has money – and drinks in his room when he doesn’t. He scrapes by on day labor and a short-term work ethic
Work ethic
Work ethic is a set of values based on hard work and diligence. It is also a belief in the moral benefit of work and its ability to enhance character. An example would be the Protestant work ethic...
. He’s got no interest in regular work, going back to college, doing anything, or maintaining a relationship.
Through him we meet other people who are just as broken, though less aware of their situation, and we view the world the narrator lives in: a post 9/11 two-dimensional world without morality
Morality
Morality is the differentiation among intentions, decisions, and actions between those that are good and bad . A moral code is a system of morality and a moral is any one practice or teaching within a moral code...
or ethics
Ethics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
, where people get screwed over whether they do the right thing or not; a world of drug dealers, abused wives, manipulated boy toys, bookies, hookers, crooked cops, and a cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
-addled bar owner. All of them are, like the narrator, just looking for some kind of shaky comfort in the world; and, just like the narrator, unable to find it.
Living Broke: Short Stories (2010)
These stories are a collection of darkly humorous, visceral, and honest images of life in AmericaUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
since the turn of the century. The characters are all trying to survive and get by in spite of living in a world where there is never enough, where hard work is not rewarded the way we are always told it will be, and where the divisions between the Haves and Have Nots are increasingly obvious. These are the In-Between People - the people who believed in the Middle Class American Dream and who have found it failing, but have nothing tangible to replace it with. The victories expressed are small and short lived, while the over arching machinations - institution, ambition, greed, loneliness, and isolation - are constants.
Conversation With Carlo (2010)
These poems, written over the first year or so of his time in Arizona and published exclusively as an e-book, are at once sad, funny, geographic, and myopic. But like all good poetry, they work to move themselves and the reader outside themselves and into a larger conversation in which words may be the most overrated commodity.Lines From Another Book of Common Prayer (2007)
The poems in this second collection, published by POD publisher Publish America, explore the interior landscapes of the spiritual, the spectacular, and the everyday cityscapeCityscape
A cityscape is the urban equivalent of a landscape. Townscape is roughly synonymous with cityscape, though it implies the same difference in urban size and density implicit in the difference between the words city and town. In urban design the terms refer to the configuration of built forms and...
s and countryside that make us who we are, and from which we are ultimately unable to really escape. For Parsons, the only option is acceptance and the hope that transcendence is still possible in this day and age.
Fragments of Unidentifiable Form (2006)
In this, his first published collection of poems, Parsons ties the internal geography of everyday lifeEveryday Life
Everyday Life is the first solo album made by Life MC of the British Hip Hop group Phi Life Cypher....
with the machinations of the outside world. By exploring the connections between these two seemingly isolated landscapes, the poems in this collection seek to outline a new geography—another continent to explore in a world that seems to be depleted, overworked, and left behind.
The Greyhound Quarto(2010)
Travel Writing for the real life traveler. Traveling across the country on a Greyhound bus, Mick Parsons talks about traveling the way you don't get it on the Travel ChannelTravel Channel
The Travel Channel is a satellite and cable television channel that is headquartered in Chevy Chase, Maryland, US. It features documentaries and how-to shows related to travel and leisure around the United States and throughout the world. Programming has included shows in African animal safaris,...
. Satirical, poetic, and insightful, this four piece essay will bring parts of America into focus that most people don't see.
External Links
Amazon.com Author PageMick's Facebook Fan Page.
The Publish America website