Sisters woman releases book of poetry

Cindy Murray didn’t set out to publish a book. She didn’t set out to be a poet.

But poetry has a way of finding a person when she needs it — and Murray needed it this summer. Like many, Cindy Murray was devastated when her good friend Jan Reed was killed in a plane crash. Somehow, her grief translated itself into words and then into meter and rhyme.

She wrote a poem she calls “Remembering Jan.”

“This was kind of a cathartic effort to deal with the grief of Jan and Bill Reed’s passing,” she said.

The writing “broke an emotional jam,” Murray said. And it didn’t stop. Poems started coming to her constantly, even in her dreams.

“The muse would meet me at midnight and I’d write in the dark,” she said. “In six week, I’d written 50 poems. When I had 50 poems I said to (husband) Bert, ‘I think I’ve got a book here.’”

She took the poems to Maverick Publishing of Bend and began the process of putting them together as a book. The front cover is a shot of a Sisters sunset from the Murray’s front porch. The title, suggested by Bert, reflects that sense of home: “Poems with a View.”

The poems range from reflections on home and family to grappling with hard truths and painful history.

“Some are really corny and some will speak to people in a way they can relate to,” Murray said.

She realizes that the poems are self-revealing and that is both exhilarating and intimidating.

“Bert was funny,” she said. “He said, ‘You don’t have a secret left.’”

The writing itself has been a boon to Murray, who has always had some creative outlet — crafting dolls, painting, hosting a bed and breakfast inn. Through the self-expression of poetry, Murray has reconnected with that creative side and come to terms with loss and pain.

And there’s pride of authorship, too.

“I loved the experience,” she said. “My first thrill was seeing the copyright page with my name on it. The whole thing has been a gift.”

“Poems with a View” is available at the Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce Visitors Center, The Candle House and at Sisters Athletic Club. Murray will host a book signing at Sisters Athletic Club on Wednesday, December 14, from 10 a.m. to noon. She notes that Bert will provide his famous coffee cake.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

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