Michael Parker
When did you realize you wanted to write seriously? I was 14 years old. By this point in my life, I had already been physically abused by a teacher and church leader. I was depressed and severely withdrawn. I rarely spoke to anyone, even family. Fortunately, I had a job in concessions at my parent's theater. One week, our theater was playing Robert Redford's film ORDINARY PEOPLE. On the night I wasn't working, I was there sitting in a dark theater watching the whole thing through. I could have been surrounded with a full theater and I would have thought that that film was playing just for me. I cried my eyes out. The script, even at that young age, hit me straight between the eyes and in the heart. It was one of the most important stories I thought had ever been written about the psychological effects of abuse. That film changed me. I was able to cope because of that. But moreover, that was the first time I wanted to write and tell stories.
Who are your biggest creative influences? I would be remiss not to include as poet-fathers Rainer Maria Rilke, Kahlil Gibran, Coleman Barks, and many other poet-brothers who inspire and speak to me: Lee Herrick, Neil Aitken, Charles Jensen, Brian Turner, Scott Owens, Marcus Slease, Edward Nudelman, Robert Vaughn, Jericho Brown, Daniel Nathan Terry, Parker Tettleton, Gene Tanta, Yehoshua November, William Stobb, Alexander Cigale, Diego Quiros, and Bill Yarrow.
I do have many poet-mothers as well: Emily Dickinson, Mary Oliver, Maya Angelou, Jane Hirshfield, and Gwendolyn Brooks. And there are many poet-sisters who I receive much inspiration and/or support from: Annie Finch, Amy King, Andrea Selch, Jill Chan, Sharon Olds, Tiffany Higgins, Pris Campbell, Francesca Castano, Evie Shockley, Mia Leonin, Emma Trelles, Amanda Hall, Florence Nash, Nancy Simpson, Helen Losse, Michelle & Melissa McEwen, Didi Menendez, Lynn York, Michelle Elvy, Susan Gibb, Karen Bowles, Reb Livingston, and many more I know I'll remember when I finish this.
In her poem of praise and admiration for her poet-mother, Emily Dickinson, Annie Finch wrote "I take from you, as you take me apart." This is how I feel about each of the poets and writers I have mentioned above. I have a piece of them in my experience and their influence is in my work. For that, I'm infinitely grateful.
Dogs or cats? Our cats have adopted us and we have adopted our dogs. But let me tell you about Lucky, our dog. She is ten years old. My wife, Jeanette, was watching the KSL News At Noon on the day that they have the feature story "Pet of the Week." On this particular day, Lucky was their featured Pet of the Week. As the story went, Lucky was brought into the Salt Lake City Animal Shelter from someone who found her on the side of Redwood Road in West Salt Lake yelping and limping. Her front leg was shattered and the doctor believed she had been dropped or thrown from a moving vehicle the height of a four-wheel-drive truck. Jeanette told me that when she saw "Lucky" for the first time on the TV, she had an immediate connection with her. So much so, that she broke down crying and knew that was our dog. It was shortly after this realization that I received a phone call at work: "Michael, I saw our dog on KSL. We are supposed to have her in our family. I'm going to go pick her up right now before anyone else does. Okay?" I was so moved by her conviction that I said "Yes, do it." Lucky has been a sweet and amazing presence in our family this 10 years.
What's your biggest fear? Though this sounds dramatic, I've been at this threshold and its possibility tore at me -- dying too early in life and being away from my wife and kids; not growing old with Jeanette; not seeing my kids grow into adulthood, especially not being here to help them achieve success and celebrate those successes with them.
www.poetsandartists.com
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