Murphy will be reading as part of the university's ongoing Red Weather Reading Series. The purpose of the series is to bring in writers who are at the beginning of their careers and therefore more accessible to students.
Daniel Pinkerton, co-coordinator of the series, said that when the bigger name writers come to Penn State, it turns into a lecture more for faculty and their peers than the students.
"Our goal is to have a reading series where students can interact with the writer," Pinkerton said. "We like to have younger writers who can relate to the undergraduate experience."
Pinkerton said that one of the reasons Murphy was chosen was because her poetry fits with the idea of the series -- accessibility "Poetry can sometimes be too complex for students to enjoy, but Murphy's is very clear and simple, as well as intelligent," he said.
The overall themes of Science of Desire are memory, language and family, Murphy said.
"They are issues that interest me, especially memory," she said. "I believe that it is not what we experience that is important, but how we remember that experience."
Murphy also writes about the interconnectedness of people in Science of Desire.
The poems in the anthology include "Confession," Murphy's story of growing up with foster parents; "Studies," a poem about dealing with the devastating Alzheimer's disease; and the provocative title poem "Science of Desire," which explores the world of lingerie.
"[The reading] really interests me because I love poetry," Johanna Schmidt (freshman-English) said. "It's the music of our language, and I hold the form of expression very close to my heart."
As well as being a poet, Murphy is an assistant English professor at Penn State Altoona and a mother.
"It's a difficult juggling act, balancing teaching, writing and being a mom," she said.
Murphy said writing has been a part of her life for as long as she can remember.
"My life is writing," she said. "When I'm not writing, I'm teaching writing."
Murphy has won many awards for her poetry, including the 2003 National Writers Union Poetry Award, Pushcart Prize nomination and a Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Award.
The hardest thing about being a published poet, Murphy said, is the rejection.
"There's not a very big market for poetry, which can be very frustrating," she said.
Murphy said the reading might prompt students to think about poetry differently.
"Poetry should be accessible to every student who wants to enjoy it, and that's what this series does," she said. "But, really, I think students should come just to have fun."
