George Murray (poet)
Encyclopedia
George Murray is a Canadian
poet
. Born 1971.
Murray is the editor of the literary blog Bookninja.com http://bookninja.com, an associate editor at Maisonneuve
magazine, and a contributing editor at several literary magazines and journals. After several years abroad in rural Italy
and New York City
, in 2005 he returned to Canada. He now lives in St. John's
, Newfoundland and Labrador
.
Murray's 2007 book, The Rush to Here, a sequence of 57 sonnets, contributed to the late 20th/early 21st century revival of the sonnet
form by reworking a number of traditional forms (Petrarcan, Spenserian, Shakesperian sonnets) into a new rhyme scheme that employs what the poet refers to as "thought-rhyme", conceptual and semantic pairings that work on the level of synonym
, antonym
and homonym
to create intertextual meaning, as opposed to the sound bonding of traditional aural rhyme. This means a word such as "night" could thought-rhyme with "day" (antonym), "dark" (synonym), "knight" (homonym), "soldier" (synonym of the homonym "knight"), "thing" (anagram), etc. According to Murray this allows the poet to avoid "the faux Elizabethan sing-song sound that comes from the linguistic acrobatics necessary to complete the rhyme contract" (Northern Poetry Review).
His latest book, Glimpse, was published in September, 2010.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
. Born 1971.
Murray is the editor of the literary blog Bookninja.com http://bookninja.com, an associate editor at Maisonneuve
Maisonneuve (magazine)
Maisonneuve is a general interest magazine based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It publishes eclectic stories of national and international scope on the arts, culture and politics. Established in 2002 by Derek Webster, the magazine is named after Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve, the founder of Montreal...
magazine, and a contributing editor at several literary magazines and journals. After several years abroad in rural Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, in 2005 he returned to Canada. He now lives in St. John's
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
St. John's is the capital and largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador, and is the oldest English-founded city in North America. It is located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. With a population of 192,326 as of July 1, 2010, the St...
, Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
.
Murray's 2007 book, The Rush to Here, a sequence of 57 sonnets, contributed to the late 20th/early 21st century revival of the sonnet
Sonnet
A sonnet is one of several forms of poetry that originate in Europe, mainly Provence and Italy. A sonnet commonly has 14 lines. The term "sonnet" derives from the Occitan word sonet and the Italian word sonetto, both meaning "little song" or "little sound"...
form by reworking a number of traditional forms (Petrarcan, Spenserian, Shakesperian sonnets) into a new rhyme scheme that employs what the poet refers to as "thought-rhyme", conceptual and semantic pairings that work on the level of synonym
Synonym
Synonyms are different words with almost identical or similar meanings. Words that are synonyms are said to be synonymous, and the state of being a synonym is called synonymy. The word comes from Ancient Greek syn and onoma . The words car and automobile are synonyms...
, antonym
Antonym
In lexical semantics, opposites are words that lie in an inherently incompatible binary relationship as in the opposite pairs male : female, long : short, up : down, and precede : follow. The notion of incompatibility here refers to the fact that one word in an opposite pair entails that it is not...
and homonym
Homonym
In linguistics, a homonym is, in the strict sense, one of a group of words that often but not necessarily share the same spelling and the same pronunciation but have different meanings...
to create intertextual meaning, as opposed to the sound bonding of traditional aural rhyme. This means a word such as "night" could thought-rhyme with "day" (antonym), "dark" (synonym), "knight" (homonym), "soldier" (synonym of the homonym "knight"), "thing" (anagram), etc. According to Murray this allows the poet to avoid "the faux Elizabethan sing-song sound that comes from the linguistic acrobatics necessary to complete the rhyme contract" (Northern Poetry Review).
His latest book, Glimpse, was published in September, 2010.