Gerry Murphy

Side by side

Existential Café

“Essence before existence!”
declared the waitress,
throwing a handful of flour
and a few raisins
onto the table.

“I ordered two scones,”
said Jean-Paul.

Gerry Murphy

(Ireland, 1952)

Gerry Murphy was born in Cork in 1952. After dropping out of university in the early 1970s he spent some years working in London and living in an Israeli Kibbutz before returning to Cork where he has remained ever since. A champion swimmer he has made his living primarily as a life guard and swimming pool manager. He began publishing his books in the mid-80s containing poems so far removed from...

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Poems of Gerry Murphy

Existential Café

“Essence before existence!”
declared the waitress,
throwing a handful of flour
and a few raisins
onto the table.

“I ordered two scones,”
said Jean-Paul.

From: End of Part One – New & Selected Poems