The Narration of Ancillaries

Poet+Erin+Murphy+is+an+associate+professor+of+English+and+creative+writing+at+the+Pennsylvania+State+University+%2C+Altoona+College.

Poet Erin Murphy is an associate professor of English and creative writing at the Pennsylvania State University , Altoona College.

Jaso Bolay, Editor

The author of six collections of poetry, Erin Murphy, will be coming to AACC to read from her book, “Ancilla” on April 23.

“Erin’s poetry is exciting,” said Susan Cohen, professor of English and coordinator of creative writing.

Murphy will be coming to AACC as a part of the monthly feature, “Writers Reading @ AACC.”

“Writers reading is a great opportunity for students to have a cultural experience here at AACC,” said assistant professor of English and liberal arts. “Students respond better to poetry when they have a person, a face and a voice to connect to it.”

Amongst her collections of poetry, Murphy has been featured in Garrison Keillor’s “The Writer’s Almanac,” and her poems and creative nonfiction essays have appeared in a number of journals and anthologies.

She has been published in “The Art of Losing” edited by renowned poet Kevin Young. Murphy has also been included in the anthology the 2009, “Best of the Net.”

Murphy’s sixth collection of poetry “Ancilla” includes 32 poems. Each poem is voiced by an ancillary in the lives of famous people from different genres.

“In “Ancilla,” she ponders the people who are attached to other famous people,” said Cohen. “She really gives us an insight into people who are often on the side which I think is most of us. We may be the center of our own lives while we’re on the side of someone else’s.”