POEMS
“In this playful and haunting debut, Murray turns his gaze toward the ordinariness and expansiveness of human life. Murray’s poems defy convention, propelling down the page with generous narrative energy…The observational and sympathetic power of these searching poems makes them hard to forget.”
-Publishers’ Weekly (Starred Review)
“[Black Observatory‘s] strikingly surreal imagery fashions situations that are by turns ridiculous and terrifying…Much of the verse feels dreamlike—or nightmarish…This collection is edgy fun.”
–Shelf Awareness (Starred Review)
“With…fantastical scenes, streams-of-consciousness, and absurdist associations, these poems encourage readers to process the complexity of emotion, experience, and the human condition…[Murray] seamlessly move[s] into worlds where readers may find themselves unable to unravel the real from the imagined.”
–The West Review
“These sometimes absurd and even slightly surreal vignettes form a weird, witty, and engaging collection that often reads like well-crafted short stories. Murray has [written] an introspective work that remains clever while never taking itself too seriously.”
-New York Public Library’s “Best Books for Adults 2023”
“Its very strangeness…and its simple, formal elegance called me to Black Observatory…There’s sweetness here…and deep thought and feeling—this is a singular debut by a singular sensibility: no one else sounds like Murray.”
-Dana Levin
“In…Black Observatory…everything is off-kilter and mysterious. Speakers move through unnerving landscapes with a mixture of curiosity, ambivalence, and moments of startling insight. This is a brilliant first book, one I will return to with pleasure.”
-Kevin Prufer
“I’ve been reading Murray’s poems for years and have been waiting patiently for this debut collection. And it’s here, and it’s thrilling.”
-Michael Earl Craig
