Erin Murphy, Professor of English at Penn State Altoona
ALTOONA, Pa. — A forthcoming book of poems by Erin Murphy, professor of English at Penn State Altoona, has been highlighted in an advance review.
"Human Resources," Murphy’s 10th full-length collection of poetry, features documentary poems about labor and employment. John Beck, co-director of "Our Daily Work/Our Daily Lives," a cooperative project of the Michigan Traditional Arts Program and the Labor Education Program at Michigan State University, published his review of the collection in the organization’s newsletter. Beck is an emeritus professor in Michigan State’s School of Human Resources and Labor Relations.
"If you only read one book of poetry again in your life (or for the first time), you need to read 'Human Resources,'" Beck writes. "Murphy has crafted a collection of poems that is a powerful glimpse into the lives of workers across the nation and the globe, across myriad workplaces and occupations. The people and their stories are so compelling that you will read the book in a torrent and then read it again slowly to savor the wonderful use of language, the gripping narratives, and the tender and respectful portraits of her subjects."
Beck goes on to details the book’s subjects, including factory workers, a Hurricane Katrina search and rescue team, a fast food cashier, and others. He notes that the erasure poems that punctuate the book "take pages from human resource manuals and transform them into poignant truths of workplace practice and hypocrisy." He concludes, "'Human Resources' is a powerful book that captures the human moments that make up the daily struggle to make a living and does so with the best that well-crafted poetry can deliver."
"Human Resources" is to be published by Grayson Books on June 2. A book launch and reading will be held on Zoom on Wednesday, June 18, at 7 p.m. Registration for the book launch is available online.
Murphy is the Poet Laureate of Blair County, poetry editor of "The Summerset Review," and Penn State’s inaugural Mellon Academic Leadership Fellow for the Big Ten Academic Alliance. More information about her work is available on Murphy’s website.
