The Edge of the World
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Alan Michael Parker is the author of four novels, nine collections of poems, and editor of five other volumes; this essay is part of his forthcoming book Bounce! A Guide to Single-Panel Cartoons (Duke University Press.) His most recent book, a collection of flash fiction and Bingo card stories, BINGO BANGO BOINGO, was published by Dzanc Books in February. Awards for his writing include three Pushcart Prizes, two selections in BEST AMERICAN POETRY, the Fineline Prize, the Lunate 500 Prize (UK), three Randall Jarrell Poetry Awards, and the NC Book Award. In 2021, he judged the National Book Award in fiction; in 2024, he judged the PEN/Faulkner Award in Fiction. He holds the Houchens Chair in English at Davidson College, where he is Chair of the Department of English and Director of Creative Writing. He also contributes a weekly cartoon to Identity Theory, under the name “Ampydoo.”
