Altoona English professor presents in University of London conference

ALTOONA, Pa. - Erin Murphy, professor of English at Penn State Altoona, gave a presentation and poetry reading as part of a conference held at the University of London in the United Kingdom.

The International Conference on Poetry Studies, sponsored by the London Centre for Interdisciplinary Research, was held at Birbeck College at the University of London and online Sept. 20-21. The theme was "Poetry Creation and Interpretation."

Murphy presented her virtual talk "Work Work: Poetry on Labor and Employment" as part of the panel session "Poetry, Society, and the Age of Algorithms." She discussed her two most recent book projects: "Human Resources," a collection of documentary poetry published in June, and "The Book of Jobs: Poems About Work," an edited anthology published Sept. 1.

In addition to her panel presentation, Murphy read from her work in an international poetry reading that was featured as the closing session of the conference.