Murphy Writing of Stockton University Presents This entry is part of Getaway Reads, an e-mail series that features the writing of the Winter Poetry & Prose Getaway faculty. . The Shape of Usefulness by Luray Gross “I try to fit language into the shape of usefulness.” - Claudia Rankine The shape of a salt crystal, for example, or a needle, a wedge, a bolt. I try to fit language into the curve of a chalice or cupped hand, or the flat dry rock just big enough to step on before you leap to the far bank. Fit language into the waterwheel’s ... Read More...
Getaway Reads 2020: A piece by Paul Lisicky
Murphy Writing of Stockton University Presents This entry is part of Getaway Reads, an e-mail series that features the writing of the Winter Poetry & Prose Getaway faculty. . The Ways We Tried To Erase Each Other by Paul Lisicky My husband, my home, our dog, my best friend, my mother — who was left to lose? It had all taken place in 16 months, and I suppose it’s better to get it all over with than to have it happen over time, sanding you down little by little. I picked the building because its ornate surface reminded me of ... Read More...
Getaway Reads 2020: Two poems by Yusef Komunyakaa
Murphy Writing of Stockton University Presents This entry is part of Getaway Reads, an e-mail series that features the writing of the Winter Poetry & Prose Getaway faculty. . Facing It by Yusef Komunyakaa My black face fades, hiding inside the black granite. I said I wouldn't dammit: No tears. I'm stone. I'm flesh. My clouded reflection eyes me like a bird of prey, the profile of night slanted against morning. I turn this way—the stone lets me go. I turn that way—I'm inside the Vietnam Veterans Memorial again, depending on ... Read More...
Getaway Reads 2020: A short story by Joe Costal
Murphy Writing of Stockton University Presents This entry is part of Getaway Reads, an e-mail series that features the writing of the Winter Poetry & Prose Getaway faculty. . The First Thanksgiving by Joe Costal You call him Uncle Bobby. The whole family calls him Uncle Bobby, but he‘s a second-cousin. On your father’s side. Uncle Bobby has Dracula hair, 70s Dracula, high and poofy in the middle, but peaked and gray-streaked up front. He loves old country music and older rock ‘n’ roll. He is a United States veteran. ... Read More...
Getaway Reads 2020: Two poems by Denise Duhamel
Murphy Writing of Stockton University Presents This entry is part of Getaway Reads, an e-mail series that features the writing of the Winter Poetry & Prose Getaway faculty. . Kinky by Denise Duhamel They decide to exchange heads. Barbie squeezes the small opening under her chin over Ken's bulging neck socket. His wide jaw line jostles atop his girlfriend's body, loosely, like one of those novelty dogs destined to gaze from the back windows of cars. The two dolls chase each other around the orange Country Camper unsure what they'll do ... Read More...
Getaway Reads 2020: A personal essay by Judith Lindbergh
Murphy Writing of Stockton University Presents This entry is part of Getaway Reads, an e-mail series that features the writing of the Winter Poetry & Prose Getaway faculty. . Food Confessions of a Former Dancer by Judith Lindbergh Food and I don’t have a great relationship—probably because I was a dancer. It was years ago, and you likely wouldn’t guess it, judging from my slowly settling, middle-aged form. But I was. A serious dancer, performing professionally for seven years, which inevitably meant I was also anorexic. Starting somewhere in ... Read More...
Getaway Reads 2020: A personal essay by Lisa Romeo
Murphy Writing of Stockton University Presents This entry is part of Getaway Reads, an e-mail series that features the writing of the Winter Poetry & Prose Getaway faculty. . Upstairs Love by Lisa Romeo When I was a small girl in the 1960s living in the leafy New Jersey suburb of Cedar Grove, I spent a chunk of every Sunday afternoon visiting my beloved Noni, my mother’s mother, at the Paterson apartment she shared with spinstered Aunt Mary. Theirs was a $40 a month fourth-floor two-bedroom walk-up with linoleum floors, concrete yard, and ... Read More...
Getaway Reads 2020: Two Poems by Peter E. Murphy
Murphy Writing of Stockton University Presents This entry is part of Getaway Reads, an e-mail series that features the writing of the Winter Poetry & Prose Getaway faculty. Closing Time by Peter E. Murphy The 24 hour bars in Atlantic City have three happy hours a day so I can pursue happiness whenever my shift lets out. I know the end is near when the cleaners appear to scrape gum from the gaudy carpets and drizzle disinfectant over urine dripped from the dicers who don’t want to lose their place at the table. Gullible ... Read More...
Congratulations to our 2018 scholarship recipients!
After considering 82 applications, the panel has made its decisions. There were many strong applications and it was a tough choice, but the following writers were selected. We look forward to getting to know them at Seaview. Toni Brown Memorial Scholarship First Place - Lindsey Danis, a writer from Kingston, NY Lindsey Danis is Hudson Valley-based writer and recovering chef who attended Vassar College and received an MFA in Creative Writing from Emerson College. She juggles freelance content marketing with working on novels about queers in the ... Read More...
Getaway Reads 2018: Two Poems by Emari DiGiorgio
Murphy Writing of Stockton University Presents This entry is part of Getaway Reads, an e-mail series curated by Marissa Luca that features the writing of the Winter Poetry & Prose Getaway faculty. Playing the Husband by Emari DiGorgio When you were the husband, you kissed up my back, lips cresting each ridge of spine. When I was the husband, I traced your name—the only poem I knew— with pointer finger, then tongue, in the small frame your shoulder blades made. When you were the husband, I lay flat on my back and closed my eyes. ... Read More...