Joseph Murphy is a retired public relations executive. His poetry has appeared in a wide range of online and print journals. Murphy's first collection of poems, Crafting Wings, was published in 2017. Murphy attended high school at Tabor Academy, Marion, Mass. He went on to earn a bachelor's degree in comparative literature from the University of California, Berkeley, as well as a master's degree in human resources management from Golden Gate University, San Francisco, Calif. While at Berkeley he was awarded the Eisner Prize for poetry, the university's highest award in the arts. Murphy is a member of the Colorado Authors' League and for eight years (2010-2018) was poetry editor for an online literary publication, Halfway Down the Stairs. He is also a veteran, having served on active duty and as a reservist in the U.S. Navy, retiring as a commander.