Directory

Richard Murphy, poet, writer, and teacher, brings critical consciousness to what is called social imagination that often governs human behavior. He has taught writing and literature for over 30 years. In the classroom, this means that he tries in a good–humored way to assist students in stretching their perspectives to educate their imaginations. When responding to scaffolding strategies in journal assignments, students come to work on rough draft organization (in groups and as a class) in writing that contains both synthesis and analysis. By making the world their own through close reading, thinking, and writing, students demonstrate their analytical and creative powers as writers. He reports that working with art students seems to come naturally to him, as he and the students are involved in the practice of creating.

Rich Murphy’s First Aid, a collection of poems, was published by Resource Publications at Wipf and Stock in 2023. His poetry has won The Poetry Prize at Press Americana twice Americana (2013) and The Left Behind (2021), and Gival Press Poetry Prize for Voyeur (2008). Space Craft by Resource Publications at Wipf and Stock also came out 2021. Books Prophet Voice Now, essays by Common Ground Research Network and Practitioner Joy, poetry by Resource Publications at Wipf and Stock 2020. He has published several other collections of poetry.

At MassArt, Richard Murphy teaches Thinking Making Writing and Literary Traditions. His newest course offering is An Artist’s Practice: Philosophies for Making.

Industry Experience

Publications and Presentations

Books

• 2023 – Footholds a book-length collection of poems due out later in 2023 by Cyberwit, Allahabad, India
  2023 – First Aid, a book-length collection of poems by Wipf and Stock
  2022 – Meme Measure, a book-length collection of poems by Wipf and Stock
  2021 – Space Craft, a book-length collection of poems by Wipf and Stock
  2021 – The Left Behind, Press Americana Poetry Prize Winner, a book-length collection of poems by Press Americana
  2020 – Prophetic Voice Now, a collection of essays on modern and postmodern poetry and poetics, published by Common Ground Research Network
  2020 – Practitioner Joy, a book-length collection of poems to be published by Wipf and Stock Publishers
  2018 – Asylum Seeker, a book-length collection of poems, the third part of a trilogy, will be published by Press Americana, a publisher dedicated to education and believes in the power of American Studies scholarship and creative writing to enact positive social change
  2017 – Body Politic (Prolific Press)
  2013 – Americana (Press Americana, Americana Prize)
  2009 – Voyeur (Gival Press Poetry Prize)
  2007 – The Apple in the Monkey Tree (Codhill Press)

Chapbooks

• Paideia (Aldrich Press)
• Family Secret (Finishing Line Press)
• Hunting and Pecking (Ahadada Books)
• Phoems for Mobile Vices (BlazeVox)
• Rescue Lines (Right Hand Pointing)
• Great Grandfather (Pudding House Publications

Papers

• 2022 – Essay – “Carl Jung and Education:” English Language Teaching and Linguistics Studies 2022 vol 4, no 2

Presentations

• 2019 – Virtual Poster for New Directions in the Humanities Conference, Granada, Spain
• 2017 – “Reading vs Performing Poetry: Literature and Capitalism” at the New Directions in the Humanities Conference at Imperial College, London
• 2016 – “Vexed to Nightmare by a Rocking Cradle:’ Ginsberg’s Performativity,” 4th Annual Meeting of the European Beat Studies Network, Brussels, Belgium
• 2016 – “The Hopkins Path to Postmodern Poetry,” at the Gerard Manley Hopkins Festival at Newbridge, Ireland

Awards

• 2019 – Practitioner Joy, semi-finalist in the 2019 Crab Orchard Series in Poetry Open Competition
• 2016 – Minds of Europe: A Genealogy to the Fat Man, short-listed finalist in the Beverly Prize in the UK
• 2016 – Storage Shed, a finalist in the Marsh Hawk Press Poetry Contest
• 2013 – Americana, winner in the Prize Americana by The Institute for American Studies and Creative Writing
• 2008 – Voyeur, Gival Press Poetry Award winner

Professional Affiliations

Associate at the Institute for Writing and Thinking (IWT) at Bard College. The Institute is a fellowship of professors whose professional focus is pedagogy.