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Michael Pearson (author)

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Michael Pearson
BornMichael Patrick Pearson
(1949-06-18) June 18, 1949 (age 75)
OccupationWriter
Alma materFordham University
University of San Francisco
Pennsylvania State University
Spouse
JoEllen Pearson
(m. 1971)
Website
michaelpatrickpearson.com

Michael Patrick Pearson (born June 18, 1949) is an American author of hundreds of essays[1] and eight books — a novel, Shohola Falls (2003),[2][3] and seven works of non-fiction; Imagined Places: Journeys into Literary America (a New York Times Notable Book of 1992),[4][5] A Place That's Known: Essays (1994), John McPhee (1997), Dreaming of Columbus: A Boyhood in the Bronx[6][7] (1999), Innocents Abroad Too: Journeys Around the World on Semester at Sea[8] (2008), Reading Life: On Books, Memory and Travel (2015), The Road to Dungannon: Journeys in Literary Ireland (2023).[9]

Early life

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Pearson was born and grew up in the Bronx. He went to St. Philip Neri Elementary School, Mount St. Michael High School, and Fordham University. In 1971, after he married Jo-Ellen Kiernan and they moved to California, he received a Master’s Degree from the University of San Francisco. For two years (1972-1974), he taught in a Bronx junior high school. From 1974 to 1977, he studied at the Pennsylvania State University, where he received his doctorate in English and American literature.

He then taught at Auburn University in Alabama, LaGrange College in Georgia, and for 32 years at Old Dominion University in Virginia. From 1997 to 2006, he directed the MFA Program in Creative Writing at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. He is currently a full-time writer, working on both nonfiction and fiction projects.

Bibliography

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Non-fiction books

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  • Imagined Places: Journeys into Literary America. Henry Holt. 1992. ISBN 978-0815606604. Reprint: University of Georgia Press. 1996.
  • A Place That’s Known: Essays. University of Georgia Press. 1994. ISBN 978-0878056729.
  • John McPhee. Twayne Publishers. 1997. ISBN 978-0805746242.
  • Dreaming of Columbus: A Boyhood in the Bronx. University of Georgia Press. 1999. ISBN 978-0815605614.
  • Innocents Abroad Too: Journeys Around the World on Semester at Sea. University of Virginia Press. 2008. ISBN 978-0815609094.
  • Reading Life: On Books, Memory and Travel. Mercer University Press. 2015. ISBN 978-0-88146-542-6.
  • The Road to Dungannon: Journeys in Literary Ireland. Mercer University Press. 2023. ISBN 978-0-88146-775-8.

Novels

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References

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  1. ^ Gardner, C. A. (August 1, 2005). "The Locus of the Imagination: An Interview with Michael Pearson". Virginia Libraries. 51 (2). doi:10.21061/valib.v51i2.968.
  2. ^ Rasmussen, R. Kent (2007). Critical companion to Mark Twain: a literary reference to his life and work. Infobase Publishing. p. 1036. ISBN 978-0-8160-5398-8. Retrieved October 9, 2010.
  3. ^ "Interview with Michael Pearson". Creative Nonfiction. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
  4. ^ Howarth, William (February 16, 1992). "Where The Wild Writers Were". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  5. ^ "Notable Books of the Year 1992". The New York Times. December 6, 1992. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
  6. ^ "NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT: NEW YORK BOOKSHELF; The Bronx Is Up: Three Whose Journey Began There". The New York Times. December 12, 1999. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  7. ^ "This Point in Space and Time (on The Boy with the Thorn in His Side: A Memoir by Keith Fleming; Honky by Dalton Conley; Dreaming of Columbus: A Boyhood in the Bronx by Michael Pearson; Winning the Dust Bowl by Carter Revard; and Cidermaster of Rio Oscura by Harvey Frauenglass) – The Georgia Review". thegeorgiareview.com. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  8. ^ "[Innocents Abroad Too] | C-SPAN.org". www.c-span.org. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  9. ^ "ODU Prof Michael Pearson Looks Inward for Seventh Book". Old Dominion University. Retrieved July 13, 2019.