Kudos to my good friend Dustin Parks, a graduate of Alexandria Senior High West Monroe High School, who as a member of the United States Army has served in the War in Iraq (and who is currently stationed overseas), for publishing his first book of poetry Karma Come Home, which is available by LuLu Press. It’s a prescient and probing collection.
This day and age, soldiers don’t usually write books of poetry. (Though there was a time in which this was more common). And yet Dustin, for some crazy and righteous reason, was compelled to write and publish his own poetry– a collection of beautiful and intelligent poems primarily concerned with identity, communication, the nature of place, and violence.
Dustin, by the way, is the brother of Casey Parks, the remarkable writer from Alexandria who has written for The New York Times and currently writes for The Oregonian.
Related:
Casey Parks, Louisiana Native and ASH Graduate, Wins Prestigious New York Times Journalism Award.
I am very appreciative of this…
He is a sensitive soul. Whenever boys broke up with me in high school, Dustin would use his money (earned working blistering hours at CiCi’s pizza) to buy roses for me. He also cried whenever his socks didn’t match. It makes sense he’d turn out to be a poet.
love you Ljr!
And a warrior…and from Louisiana…(where only a brother could be a sister, eh Ljr?:)
Trust me, the brother and the sister are very different yet equally exceptional.
Noooo silly…”Dustin, by the way, is the sister of Casey Parks,”
LOL.
Oops, nice catch.
Sorry for changing your gender, Dustin.
haha, no worries. When this post started I was an female marine… glad things are settled now lol.
I must say as their mother I am equally proud of my children..but Dustin is Staff SGT in the US Army and he graduated from West Monroe High School but did attend Ash.
Lamar, you continue to be the son-in-law of my dreams.
I can’t get anything right. I always forget you guys moved back to West Monroe.
I was long gone by then myself.
Thanks Rhonda 🙂