On Sunday, February 16, at 3pm, Hometown Voices will feature two writers—Erin Murphy and Jared Conti—at Tempest Studios (140 Kelly Alley).

Erin Murphy is the author or editor of more than a dozen books, including Fluent in Blue (Grayson Books, 2024), Human Resources (forthcoming from Salmon Poetry), and anthologies published and forthcoming from the University of Nebraska Press, SUNY Press, and Wesleyan University Press. Her recent work has appeared in Ecotone, North American Review, Women’s Studies Quarterly, The Best of Brevity, Best Microfiction 2024, and anthologies from Random House, Bloomsbury, Bedford/St. Martin's, and other presses. Her awards include a Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Prize, two Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards, the Rattle Poetry Prize Readers’ Choice Award, and a Best of the Net award. Murphy serves as poetry editor of The Summerset Review and the inaugural Poet Laureate of Blair County, Pa., where she is an inductee in the Blair County Arts Hall of Fame. She is professor of English at Penn State Altoona and a 2023-25 Mellon Academic Leadership Fellow.

Jared A. Conti is a poet and musician, and currently buried beneath the staggering weight of thousands of books. Much to his family’s chagrin, he has moved said books into the garage, out of the garage, and most recently back into the garage. Anyone want to buy a book? When not hassling random strangers to buy his books, Jared can be found hassling random strangers to buy coffee at Avenue 209 in Lock Haven. From the few hours afforded to him in public, he can be found championing music, art, and the written word, mostly because it’s where he gets most of his ideas. In addition to various small press publications, Jared has most recently been found performing with The Echo & Sway at the Hublersburg Inn summer concert series and corralling a piebald herd of poets for the Clinton County Arts Council’s annual ekphrasis event. Jared is happy to make his triumphant return to his complicated roots of State College.

See the attached flyer and please share with your communities. All readings are free and open to the public. Parking in the Fraser Deck (located just above Tempest Studios) is free on Sundays. Come enjoy local writers and support your creative community!