Bourge-wise Cat

REVIEW)
By Alison Ross
(BOOK
I first discovered the genius of Sheila Murphy when I was
perusing tomes at an excellent indie bookstore in Austin called
Malvern Books. The title of her book, "Letters to an Unfinished J"
leaped out at me. I read her verse on the plane back to Atlanta, and
became entranced with Murphy's ability to forge a sinuous syntax.
She manipulates language to further stretch its malleability, but
also personalizes it, creating an introverted world whirling with
intricate imagery and intense emotion, that also manages to be
accessible to an audience attuned to literary innovation and yet
wary of the alienating pretension that plagues certain poetry
scenes.
I first discovered the late and much-bereaved Michelle
Greenblatt when she submitted poetry to Clockwise Cat. However,
unlike with Sheila Murphy, her work did not immediately and
urgently snag my attention. Her impact on me was more slowgrowing;
her words simmered in the subterranean corners of my