EP 33: Carolyn R Parsons

Carolyn R. Parsons is a proud fisherman’s daughter born and raised on Change Islands, Newfoundland and Labrador. She spent twenty-five years in Ontario, returned home to Newfoundland in 2012, and now resides in Lewisporte.

An advocate for social issues, she was co-chair and spokesperson for the Manolis L Citizens Response Committee, which lobbied government to remove oil that threatened the marine environment from the sunken cargo ship in Notre Dame Bay. She penned a regular community column entitled “Connections,” a biweekly arts feature, “In Conversation,” and wrote general news for the Pilot.

Today she writes a weekly column, “Art & Soul,” for the Central Voice and co-hosts an online radio program, Bridges. A founding director of Literary Events NL, she also serves as the current Central/Burin representative for the Writers’ Alliance of Newfoundland and Labrador (WANL).

Carolyn is married to Kent Chaffey, also a Change Islander, and they have four daughters and three grandchildren. In the past decade, she has written a poetry collection, two novels, and a book of short stories. The Forbidden Dreams of Betsy Elliott is her debut novel with Flanker Press.