by Carla Smith
Staff Writer
Sitting in a sophomore English class in West Fargo, a teacher with a passion
for Emily Dickinson reads to her class. A young student listens intently and
his own passion for poetry is ignited.
Jamie Parsley began reading poetry intensely after his teacher inspired him
to delve deeper into the art form. His reading led to writing poetry, which
ultimately led to his being published in several journals and magazines. His
continued efforts brought his poetry to a larger venue in 1995, when his first
collection of poems, “The Loneliness of Blizzards,” was published. Many
poems and stories later, Parsley has traveled an interesting and, at times,
harrowing path to where he is today.
After graduating from high school, Jamie focused on writing until
Concordia College professor Barb Olive, a friend and mentor of Parsley,
encouraged him to enroll in a master’s program. Jamie’s work and his
commitment to his craft landed him a place at Vermont College, where he
completed an Master of Fine Arts in poetry and fiction in 1999.
Parsley’s path was still moving forward. Parsley had used poetry to search
for meaning in religion and life since his early days. He studied different
religions with the same zeal that he studied poetry. After much research and
a lot of church services, Parsley found his calling in the Episcopal Church.
He began his work toward becoming a priest and will earn his liturgical
collar in a year. Through out his life, Parsley has blended these two
essential ingredients of life in a unique way.
Parsley speaks of his poetry as an extension of his life. Parsley tells of how
he goes through periods when he won’t write at all, but rather will just live
life, filing experiences for those moments that come from his muse. Parsley,
who writes in free hand, explains how his verse begins with a first line and
“grows from there.” He will finish a piece and then read it out loud. “Poetry
is so oral, such an audible art,” Parsley says.
As for inspiration, Parsley shares that at times, “the poetry is just there.”
He's written hundreds of poems and explains how “somewhere in the
middle between the soft, easy pieces and the out-there, abstract stuff is the
work that is hard to write and satisfying.” Parsley also believes in
experimentation in his work. He enjoys trying his hand at styles that don’t
necessarily come naturally to him. Parsley says: “Experimenting is very
important. It gives your work a new dimension.”
Longtime friend and fellow writer Brother Benet Tvedten describes Parsley’
s poetry as being “brief and to the point.” “The reader is never lost in
abstractions,” Tvedten says. He also notes how Parsley’s environment
comes through in his writing. “A native of the Dakota wind-swept prairie,
he often employs the wind in his poems,” Tvedten says, “the violent wind
creating angst and light breezes that represent the lyrical.”
Brother Tvedten also notes the spirituality that is evident in some of Parsley’
s work. When asked what the central theme of Parsley’s work seems to be,
his response is simple and clear, much like Parsley’s work: “Looking at life’
s absurdities as well as its marvels and finding the spiritual in both.”
Parsley has dedicated much of his learning experience to religion and
poetry. While he allows that his work with poetry “ebbs and flows” and that
he often takes a break from writing, he also feels that his religious
experience is similar. He describes how some poems are “just there, staring
at you, and you’re prepared to write that poem, to put it down on the page
and you, as the poet, feel good about having taken this experience and
given it life,” Parsley says. “You feel alive because you’ve created
something. The same sort of thing happens with religion,” he says. “There
are moments you know,” he says. “You know that God exists without a
doubt, you know that what you are feeling is peaceful and good and pure.
To come to these moments in life, one must simply wait them out. They don’
t come daily….They come when we least expect them. We, as poets, as
religious seekers, are simply there waiting for them.”
The poetry of liturgy is also something that Parsley appreciates. Parsley
shares how he “loves the liturgy and the poetry contained in it.” Parsley,
who is in the candidacy stage of priesthood in the Episcopal Church, enjoys
the poetry of scripture. He says that one of the things that attracted him to
the Episcopal Church was the use of psalms that are either recited or sung
during services.
Parsley also points out that as his spirituality has grown and changed, so
has his poetry. In his early work, Parsley grappled more openly with the
questions that religion raised in him. Now he feels that “as writers, we need
to be honest with the experiences of our lives, and, if we are compelled to
write about our spirituality, then certainly we should.”
Poetry and the priesthood aren’t the only things that intertwine. An active
writer in the area, he also makes his relationships with friends and family a
priority. Though few of his family or friends are writers, he enjoys sharing
that side with those who are interested. A close friend shared that Parsley’s
work “shows a side that doesn’t come out in casual conversation or in day-
to-day interactions.” The friend also said that “Jamie’s poetic work is a new
dimension of who he is.”
Parlsey continues to find out more about his path and how his poetry will
come from those places he travels. Recently diagnosed with cancer, Parsley
is focusing on his health and recovery. But, as he says, “When the big things
come, that is when you use your poetry.”
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Staff photo by Carla Smith
Jamie Parsley - North Dakota Poet and Priest
Article originally published on Horizonlines.org