Poetry. Sheila E. Murphy's selection gives readers access to a range of work, from earlier books like TETH to her work in the late 90s. As the person who coined the term American Haibun, Murphy shows her mastery of the contemporary prose poem. ".all the senses are present and alive animating a prosody equally at ease working a four-poster structure of four four-line stanzas, a mackerel sky of poetic prose, or a cumulus of vers libre"-Norma Cole.
Sheila Murphy has been called and affiliated with the L A N G U A G E poets and while she is one of the better poets in that school, she's more than that. She plays with text like some pros just make their violins churn on the stage. She is a pro's pro, and to beat it all, she's a darn nice person too. I had known her before moving out to Phoenix decades ago, but she was one of the first people to get together with me and meet in person and I subsequently enjoyed going to the various productions she lined up at the Scottsdale Center for the Arts. If you haven't experienced word play like this, check it out. Recommended.