Sheila E Murphy is the author of numerous collections
of poems including Teth which was published by Chax
Press, local press here.
Tommy and Neil also by a local Tucson press, Sun/Gemini Press.
And Falling in Love with You Syntax, Concentricity, Letters
to Unfinished J. And imminently forthcoming
is Green Tea with Ginger and Proof of Silhouettes.
Is that out yet or is that--
Coming.
Ok, coming.
Murphy has received the Gertrude Stein
award for innovative writing.
And she lives in Phoenix where she and Beverly Carver
co-founded and coordinated for 12 years
the Scottsdale Center for the Arts Poetry Series, which
brought a lot of Arizona poets into Scottsdale, reading
for a really interesting and significant event there
at the Scottsdale Center for the Arts.
Her work in Acumen is said to be lyrical but elusive.
The image is bright and clear with an intriguing musicality
which is not surprising since she's been
a flutist since the age of 10.
And in Taproot, her work is said
to balance a fine line between pure ineffable
abstraction and an attention to the ordinary autobiographically
oriented life.
Acumen and taproot comprise the soul of Murphy's work.
The allusive and the elusive, the composition both musical
and material create a shelter of sorts in each poem.
We're lucky to have her here.
Thanks for coming.
Please welcome Sheila Murphy.
[APPLAUSE]
Thank you, Frances for the lovely and generous
introduction.
And thank you Anne for having me here.