Philip A. Purser (Oct. 25, 1979 - ). American writer and scholar most noted for his contributions to the fields of herpetology, marine husbandry, and Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon studies, particularly the importance of incorporating facets of medieval pre-Christian ritual and rite into modern classroom pedagogy.
Born and raised in the Appalachian foothills[1] of northwest Georgia (particularly in the town of Douglasville and community of Old Lost Mountain), Purser nurtured his passion for wildlife through field collection of native species. The hardwood forests and open hillsides of his homeland, he would later admit during a 2011 radio interview with animal rights advocate Jon Patch [2], would also come to have great bearing on his admiration for the sense of freedom and independence expressed in medieval Icelandic sagas and verse.
Purser began his career as a writer in 1999, at the age of nineteen. After returning to Douglasville from holding a position as a DNR ranger in the Okefenokee Swamp, Purser collected photographs of the reptile and amphibian species he had encountered there, and he wrote an account of his travels and experiences in the swamp. The eco-tourism piece was picked up by Reptile & Amphibian Hobbyist magazine, and appeared in the January, 1999 issue. After writing more eco-tourism and captive pet-care articles for Reptile & Amphibian Hobbyist, Purser began writing similar pieces for a number of other animal-related periodicals, including Practical Fishkeeping, Reptiles, Reptilia, and Bird Watcher's Digest.
By the early 2000s, Purser began writing books on the topics of pet care and captive animal husbandry for herpetological hobbyists, public aquariums, and zoological parks. His titles include:
After the release of his ninth book on snakes in 2010, Purser turned away from the herpetological sciences in favor of Old English and Old Norse verse, poetry, and literature, which he studied at the University of Georgia, the University of West Georgia, and Georgia State University. Purser presented his research in these cultures and languages at literary conferences and organizations, including SEMA and the Georgia Philological Association. His published contributions to the fields of Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon literature and culture include "There and Back Again: J. R. R. Tolkien and the Literature of the Medieval Quest"[3] and "Rock Icon: Reading Rocks and Stones as Symbols of Legal, Religious, and Cosmological Permanence in Icelandic Saga and Society".[4]
Philip Purser has taught English at both Georgia State University and the University of West Georgia. He currently teaches English composition and literature at Lander University in Greenwood, South Carolina.