English professor Tom Murphy will be honored during the festival as Corpus Christi's Poet Laureate for 2021-2022. CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Free verse -- haikus, and sonnets -- whatever your style, you've got to represent when it comes to poetry. This year's People's Poetry Festival is all virtual, and while that might take away from the camaraderie of poetry, English professor Tom Murphy said, on the up side, it allows poets from all over the world to take part.