Guerrero-Murphy invites readers to experience life through musings of a poet (12-21-07)
Literature in verse, a definition of poetry, symbolizes great beauty, emotional sincerity or intensity, or profound insight, according to the Encarta Dictionary. Adams State College Dr. Carol Guerrero-Murphy's recently published collection of poems, "Table Walking at Nighthawk," measures up to these standards.
"I want each of the poems to be an experience," Guerrero-Murphy said. "Since I learned to write, I have liked playing with words. It is a way to express that which cannot be expressed any other way. Poetry is as much about images and sound, as what has happened to me."
Guerrero-Murphy said she like the economy of poems. "I can finish a poem," she said. "If I were to start an essay, it would not end."
As chair of the English, Theater, Language and Communications Department, and a professor of English, Guerrero-Murphy said she used her sabbatical a few years ago to "form, select, shape, and create new works" for the recent publication. "I have the best job," she said. "I teach and have my own work valued. I also work with people who love learning and language. I really am blessed."
She credits her desire to teach to early instructors. "I had some wonderful English teachers who were so down-to-earth and supportive and honored what I loved to write," Guerrero-Murphy said. "I remember submitting a packet of poems to Ms. Kurtz. She said the poems were okay, but lacked what previous work had shown. I appreciated her criticism. It really taught me, she challenged my writing."
Guerrero-Murphy included her high school English teacher, Kurtz, in her book's acknowledgements. "There is equal joy in making poems and in turning students onto poetry and writing," she said. "They are both satisfying."
The book includes poems that date back to Guerrero-Murphy's graduate school days. "In life, there is much we can explain and a lot that is miraculous and mysterious," she said. "I like to have glimpses of the unexplained in my poetry."
"Table Walking at Nighthawk" is named for a poem in the collection. "Table walking is something people do to call up spirits," Guerrero-Murphy said. "Nighthawk is a cabin on the Platte River."
Her publisher selected one of her poems to be included in an anthology and nominated it for the Pushcart Prize for poetry. "I draw inspiration from experiences," she said. "I try and make meaning out of chaos. What does it add up to, what have I learned."
A reading of her work, and Adams State creative writing students, was held in the Luther Bean Museum earlier in December. "It was the most fun I ever had reading," Guerrero-Murphy said. "There is something about the poems being in a book. It is not nearly so much mine anymore - and that is okay."
"Table Walking at Nighthawk" is available at the Adams State College Bookstore and the Narrow Gauge Bookstore, located in downtown Alamosa.
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By Linda Relyea
