Louise Murphy
Encyclopedia
Louise Murphy was born in 1943 in Bowling Green, Kentucky
. Her ethnicity is Scottish, Irish, and German. Murphy’s hobbies include playing the flute, classical music, and the opera. Ms. Murphy began writing when she was five because as she puts it, “I wrote because of the joy of holding in my hand something that I had made, something that could never disappear again the way all my thoughts did”. Louise Murphy also loved reading and still today tells her students to read anything possible.
in 1964. Upon leaving the University, she became a junior high English teacher in Newark, DE from 1966-68. After teaching at a junior high, she went to San Francisco State University
in 1977 where she received her master’s degree of art and became a professor at the university from 1977-82.
mixed in with the Holocaust
and World War II. Mark Harris, a reporter for Entertainment Weekly
, described the change from the fairy tale into a “parable of survival” an “intriguing idea”. She won the Writers Digest award for poetry and she also won the Shaunt Basmajian
Award for books both in 2003. She is currently working on her latest novel, which is set in 1984 in California, Love Stories.
Bowling Green, Kentucky
Bowling Green is the third-most populous city in the state of Kentucky after Louisville and Lexington, with a population of 58,067 as of the 2010 Census. It is the county seat of Warren County and the principal city of the Bowling Green, Kentucky Metropolitan Statistical Area with an estimated 2009...
. Her ethnicity is Scottish, Irish, and German. Murphy’s hobbies include playing the flute, classical music, and the opera. Ms. Murphy began writing when she was five because as she puts it, “I wrote because of the joy of holding in my hand something that I had made, something that could never disappear again the way all my thoughts did”. Louise Murphy also loved reading and still today tells her students to read anything possible.
Education
Murphy attended the University of KentuckyUniversity of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...
in 1964. Upon leaving the University, she became a junior high English teacher in Newark, DE from 1966-68. After teaching at a junior high, she went to San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University is a public university located in San Francisco, California. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers over 100 areas of study from nine academic colleges...
in 1977 where she received her master’s degree of art and became a professor at the university from 1977-82.
Writing career
She began writing novels in 1980 when she wrote her first book (a children’s book), My Garden: A Journal for Gardening around the Year, a journal that has weekly entries about gardening from January to the beginning of November. After writing her first book, she continued writing and also continued her teaching. Her next novel was The Sea Within, a story of a woman who is depressed because of her destroyed marriage and inability to have a child, so she decides to start a new life in Kentucky. After writing The Sea Within, she went on to become a teacher of novel writing at the Acalanes Adult Education in Lafayette, California from 1986-91. She wrote many essays and poetry pieces in many newspapers, magazines, and journals. She then wrote a poem and a book in the same year: 2003. She wrote Pilgrimage (a poem) and then probably her most significant and acclaimed novel: The True Story of Hansel and Gretel: A Novel of War and Survival. She caught both kids and adult readers in her story of the classic fairy tale Hansel and GretelHansel and Gretel
"Hansel and Gretel" is a well-known fairy tale of German origin, recorded by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812. Hansel and Gretel are a young brother and sister threatened by a cannibalistic hag living deep in the forest in a house constructed of cake and confectionery. The two children...
mixed in with the Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
and World War II. Mark Harris, a reporter for Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
, described the change from the fairy tale into a “parable of survival” an “intriguing idea”. She won the Writers Digest award for poetry and she also won the Shaunt Basmajian
Shaunt Basmajian
Shaunt Basmajian was a Canadian poet and author.Born in Beirut, Lebanon to Armenian parents, Basmajian emigrated to Canada when he was seven years old. He was a founder of the Canadian Poetry Association, co-founder of Old Nun Publications , and was a member of the Parliament Street Library poetry...
Award for books both in 2003. She is currently working on her latest novel, which is set in 1984 in California, Love Stories.