Penn State Altoona English faculty to read from new books

ALTOONA, Pa. - Penn State Altoona English faculty members Todd Davis and Erin Murphy will read from their work at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 29, in the Titelman Study of the Misciagna Family Center for Performing Arts. The reading will kick off the fall Hard Freight Café open mic event.

Davis, professor of English and environmental studies, will read from his eighth full-length collection of poetry, "Ditch Memory: New & Selected Poems." Murphy, professor of English, will read from her ninth poetry collection, "Fluent in Blue."

Davis's writing has won the Midwest Book Award, the Gwendolyn Brooks Poetry Prize, the Chautauqua Editors Prize, the Bloomsburg University Book Prize, and the Foreword INDIES Book of the Year. His poems have appeared in such journals and magazines as "American Poetry Review," "Alaska Quarterly Review," "Iowa Review," "North American Review," "Prairie Schooner," "Southern Humanities Review," and "Poetry Daily." In addition to his poetry books, Davis has edited three anthologies, most recently "A Literary Field Guide to Northern Appalachia." He is an emeritus fellow of the Black Earth Institute.

Murphy's awards include two Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards, a Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Prize, the Rattle Poetry Prize Readers' Choice Award, a Best of the Net Award, and the Foley Poetry Award. Along with her poetry books, she has edited three anthologies. Her work has appeared in "Ecotone," "Women's Studies Quarterly," "The Georgia Review," "North American Review," "The Writer's Almanac," "The Best of Brevity," "Best American Microfiction," and anthologies from Random House, Bloomsbury, Bedford/St. Martin's, Michigan State University Press, and Terrapin Books. She serves as Poet Laureate of Blair County, Pa.

Davis and Murphy will sign copies of their books which will be available for purchase. The reading will be followed immediately by the open mic portion of the evening. Sponsored by the English program and the Division of Arts and Humanities, the event is free and open to the public.