Penn State Altoona to host faculty poetry reading on April 14

ALTOONA, Pa. - Penn State Altoona will host a poetry reading from Penn State Altoona faculty Todd Davis, Patricia Jabbeh-Wesley and Erin Murphy from 12:10 to 1:20 p.m. on Tuesday, April 14, in the Fireside Lounge of the Slep Student Center.

Davis is a professor of English and environmental studies. He is the author of eight full-length collections of poetry, most recently "Ditch Memory: New & Selected Poems" and "Coffin Honey." He has won numerous prizes for his work, including the Midwest Book Award, the Gwendolyn Brooks Poetry Prize, and the Foreword INDIES Book of the Year.

Jabbeh-Wesley is a professor of English. Her collections include "Praise Song for My Children: New and Selected Poems," "When the Wanderers Come Home," and her most recently edited anthology, "Breaking the Silence: Anthology of Liberian Literature." Her 500-page collected edition, "Patricia Jabbeh-Wesley: Collected Poems, 1998-2020," is forthcoming from University of Nebraska Press, and was named one of "Publishers Weekly's" Top 10 collections of poetry coming out in 2026.

Murphy, professor of English, is the author or editor of 16 books, most recently "Swoon: New and Selected Poems" and "Human Resources." An anthology of documentary poetry is forthcoming from Wesleyan University Press. Her awards include a Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Prize, two Foreword INDIES Book of the Year awards, Best of the Net and Best Microfiction honors, the Foley Poetry Award, the Patterson Prize for Literary Excellence, and the 2025 American Book Fest Best Book Award.