Aaron Parrett (born 1967) is an American musician, author, letterpress printer, and educator. He is currently Professor of English Literature at the

University of Providence The University of Providence (UP, formerly University of Great Falls) is a private Roman Catholic university in Great Falls, Montana. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. History The University of Provide ...

in Great Falls, Montana. A considerable portion of his academic and written work deals with the genre of

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

or about the state of Montana.

Biography

Born in

Butte, Montana Butte ( ) is a consolidated city-county and the county seat of Silver Bow County, Montana, United States. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the sole entity of Butte-Silver Bow. The city covers , and, according to the ...

, he earned a PhD in Comparative Literature in 2001 from the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

. His first academic book, ''The Translunar Narrative in the Western Tradition'' (Ashgate, 2004) examined the dream of traveling to the Moon in literature, culminating in the Apollo Program of the 1960s and early 1970s that achieved the millennia-long vision of leaving Earth. A considerable portion of his academic work deals with the genre of science fiction. His other works have focused on his home state of Montana, including ''Montana: Then and Now'' (Bangtail, 2014), ''Literary Butte'' (History Press, 2015) and ''Montana Americana Music'' (Arcadia, 2016), for which prize-winning author Smith Henderson wrote the foreword. He won the Montana Historical Society's Peoples' Choice Award for his essay, "Montana's Worst Natural Disaster," about the devastating 1964 flood that killed 30 Native American Indians on the Blackfeet Reservation. As a result of his Montana writings, he has been featured on many radio programs and was a featured guest on Anthony Bourdain's '' Parts Unknown'' television segment on Butte. He serves as president of the Drumlummon Institute, a non-profit whose mission is "to promote and publish art and literatures created in Montana and the broader American West." Parrett is also a songwriter and composer. His first album of original songs, ''The Sinners'' (Pizzle Records, 1996) earned critical acclaim (rereleased in 2015), yielding the song "Texas," a song recorded by several artists, including the southern Americana band Stewart and Winfield. His songs have been featured in several Emmy-nominated documentary films, including ''Libby, Montana'' (High Plains Films, 2007) and ''The Naturalist'' (2004). A lyric from his song "El Cuchillo" is referenced in leading Steinbeck scholar Bob DeMott's ''Afield: American Writers on Bird Dogs'' (2014). His most recent recording was a joint effort with IBMA songwriter of the year, Ivan Rosenberg, called ''Stumbo Lost Wages'' (Pizzle Records, 2009). He is also co-founder of ''The Territorial Press'', along with master letterpress printer and book artist,

Peter Rutledge Koch Peter Rutledge Koch, also known simply as Peter Koch (born 1943) is an American letterpress master printmaker, artists' book publisher and small book publisher, typographer, educator, and designer. Koch is Internationally known for his artist boo ...

. The catalogue of ''The Territorial Press'' includes ''Himself Adrift'' (2016) by Matt Pavelich, ''Curses'' (2015) by Aaron Parrett, and ''Maple and Lead'' (2017) by Aaron Parrett, featuring wood-engraved illustrations by artist Seth Taylor Roby.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Parrett, Aaron 1967 births Living people University of Providence University of Georgia alumni People from Butte, Montana Letterpress printmakers