Ross Parmenter

Ross Parmenter, a Canadian writer, artist, and anthropologist, was the music editor for the New York Times, and author of twelve books, including:

"The Awakened Eye"

"The Plant in my window"

"School of the Soldier"

"Week in Yanhuitlan"

"Lawrence in Oaxaca"

"Stages in a Journey"

"A House for Buddha: A Memoir with Drawings"

"Lienzo of Tulancingo, Oaxaca"

In several of his books, Parmenter highlights how difficult (& rewarding) it is to observe things in great detail. His book, "The Plant in my Window" shares his observations of the growth of a plant in his New York City apartment. Through his observations of the plant, he learns to give focused attention to what he is looking at. By learning to look more closely at things, he also learns to draw, and his learning to draw teaches him even more about focused looking.

He works through similar themes in a more detailed way in his books "The Awakened Eye", "A Week in Yanhuitlan", and "Stages in a Journey".

In his book "Lawrence in Oaxaca", he discusses & analyzes the relationship of D. H. Lawrence's writings to his time living in Mexico.

Some of his papers are collected at the Latin American Library at Tulane University.

He was born on May 30, 1912, in Toronto. He graduated from Trinity College at the University of Toronto in 1933 and joined The New York Times in 1934. He died on October 18, 1999, at the age of 87.

[http://www.west.net/~rperry/Oaxaca/parmenter.html Selection from 'Stages in a Journey']

[http://www.colonial-mexico.com/Oaxaca/parmenter-cuilapan.html Selection from 'Stages in a Journey']

[http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&id=eVYN_j-rEAEC&dq=ross+parmenter&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=D-nF2oDXVe&sig=McdDo_agPz2zGqyW3okkNgYg3Ps#PPP2,M1 Lienzo of Tulancingo, Oaxaca ]

[http://lal.tulane.edu/parmenterfarmercoll.html Parmenter Collection at the Latin American Library, Tulane University ]

[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D07E1DD1139F931A15753C1A96F958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print New York Times Obituary]