Mom, Johnny Mathis and Me
Sean MurphyDespite accusations to the contrary leveled by friends (and especially family), I don’t hate Christmas music so much as I’m allergic to cliché and kitsch — and as such this…
The Day The Music Died, Redux (Revisited)
(12/9/2010) It was thirty years ago today... Where were you? I was in my mother's bedroom, kissing her goodbye before I caught the school bus, and I heard the horrible…
What We Talk About When We Talk About Sex (In Fiction)
(Annual update.) WRITING ABOUT SEX is like engaging in sex: it’s hard. Or, it should be. It’s that time of year again, where we can count on three things: shopping-related…
#GivingTuesday and 1455
A little over two years ago, 1455 was launched to support and nourish a global community of creatives: writers, artists, academics, entrepreneurs, thinkers, and literary fans. Enlisting, engaging, and expanding this vibrant community is…
Never Say Die! Celebrating Ozzy on His Birthday
Happy 70th birthday to Ozzy Osbourne, the self-proclaimed Prince of Darkness. If you'd guessed, circa 1974, or 1984 (or 1994, etc.), that any of us would be celebrating John Michael…
The Letter My Father Never Wrote Me (Revisited)
I’m grateful to the excellent literary magazine Palooka for giving a home to my very short piece “The Letter My Father Never Wrote Me.” If you like what you see, consider picking up…
The Whiteness of the Whale: Remembering The White Album (Revisited)
Therefore, in his other moods, symbolize whatever grand or gracious thing he will by whiteness, no man can deny that in its profoundest idealized significance it calls up a peculiar…
BOOKED: SEAN MURPHY Q&A WITH BETHANNE PATRICK
An oldie but goodie from summer of 2018. I had the pleasure of talking with good friend, literary rock star, and 1455 Advisory Board member Bethanne Patrick (AKA @TheBookMaven) about…everything. It’s at once refreshing…
Every Day is Veterans Day (Revisited)
I. Personal Remember when Born in the U.S.A. was ubiquitous? The album and the song. Bruce was already big, but he wasn’t over the top. Born in the U.S.A. put…
Never Say Nevermore: A Reappraisal of Edgar Allan Poe
If Edgar Allan Poe—and his writing—has not aged well and seems more than a little passé for 21st century sensibilities, it’s not entirely his fault. Like others who have done…