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Advanced Praise for Jesse Parent and The Noise That Is Not You
I still remember the moment I first heard and saw Jesse Parent perform. He was riveting, and he had such control over his voice and body, and in his writing. That's pretty much the trifecta in the poetry slam.
Taylor Mali
Author, 4-time National Poetry Slam Champion
Jesse Parent’s book is equal parts humor, sucker punch and bedtime story. Spoonful-o-sugar isn’t exactly his strategy. It’s more like, "This may sting, but here’s a pancake with that." I laughed outloud at least as many times as I nodded and hmm-ed. And never, ever does he sacrifice language for the easy chuckle; his craft is as deft as his wit. In short, this book is a delight. A smart, touching, hilarious delight.
Tara Hardy
Bringing Down the Chandeliers (Write Bloody, 2011)
Women of the World Poetry Slam finalist and 3-time Individual World Poetry Slam finalist
Parent's work is smart, fun and unflinching. Wrought from a sensibility that treats comic books and Bibles as sacred texts in the same breath, his is an unapologetically modern voice that doesn’t seek balance so much as every possible facet of an issue to manipulate to some nefarious end. His poetry twirls its moustache, winks over cereal bowls, and is otherwise a perfectly good roommate for the Ginsberg, Kunitz and Collins already on your shelf.
Scott Woods
We Over Here Now (Brick Cave Books, 2013)
Former President of Poetry Slam, Inc.
Hammer to rock, shovel to earth, ax to wood, Jesse Parent's poems work. Overtime. Father, husband, friend, brawler, Parent's poems illuminate the modern american male psyche, then dismantle it and build something new and much needed in its place. Funny, arresting, self deprecating, heart breaking, The Noise That Is Not You should be required reading for any dad, dad to be, or anybody thinking about being a dad.
Danny Solis
Father, poet, educator, organizer,
national and international poetry slam champion, poetry slam legend
Parent's attention to the manifold complexities of faith and fatherhood render the reader under his spell. He deftly shifts tone, one of the benchmarks of a strong writer and performer, to heighten tension while exposing deep-seated male vulnerabilities and placing himself firmly as the subject. The Noise That Is Not You stands as an unflinching self-portrait composed under the weight of the hardest truths and the brightest beauty.
Airea Dee Matthews
2-time Women of the World Poetry Slam Finalist,
University of Michigan 2013 MFA Candidate, Cave Canem Fellow, wife and mother of 4.
Jesse is a blue-collar poet. I say this, not to diminish what he writes, but to elevate it.
Jesse crafts poems like a carpenter: taking the rough & making it smooth, fitting pieces seamlessly into place, building with sweat & blood & passion, always letting the natural grain show through.
He writes poems that have dirt under their fingernails, that work hard all day & are glad to relax on the sofa when they get home, that cherish family (both genetic & chosen) above all else, that believe in who we are.
The Noise that is Not You is Jesse at his best & most honest. It what every poet should aspire to, poems that speak clearly, even when afraid. These are poems that will appeal to the day laborer & the day trader, the soccer mom & the fireman, the temp & the tattooist. Jesse speaks fluent Human.
Every person has a story to tell. Jesse tells those stories with honesty, passion, & love. What more could you want?
Bill MacMillan
Poetry slam legend and co-founder of Worcester Poets' Asylum
Jesse Parent delivers his work with a smile on his face that, no matter the subject of his work, finds its way onto the page, the microphone, and eventually into your heart. His work finds its reflection in you, making you one with the writing instantly.
Jesse and his work are the guy you see every Sunday at the grocery store that always smiles back at you, cracks a joke, and lets you skip ahead in line if you have fewer. His poems are family you haven’t seen in a while.
Ed Mabrey
Waiting for the Mail Train (Wordsmith Press, 2010),
3-time Individual World Poetry Slam champion
In my opinion, my dad is the best slam poet in the universe! He has really made me look on both sides of a topic, and express how I feel in an ok manner. He has also encouraged me to write poetry, slam poetry, and haiku. And I have started doing so. If you are reading this I hope you like my dad’s poetry as much as I do. Enjoy!
Jasmine Parent
Jesse’s 10 year old daughter (actually, 10 and a half)
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