There Was Fire in Vancouver
"There Was Fire in Vancouver" is Sinead Morrissey's first book of poems. Organised as a journey from communism to spiritual affirmation, from life in Ireland to life abroad, and return, from security and dependence on family in particular, to independence and security in the self, it memorably evokes what it is to grow up. Poems of childhood and communist upbringing are followed by poems about death, love, its loss; and several deal with angels and the implications of religious faith.
Affected by the poets of Northern Ireland, Sinead acknowledges a particular debt to the Welsh poet R. S. Thomas, remarking on his "absolute clarity of language and the directness of a vision which is both beautiful and terrifying". She adds, "Thomas inspires me because he is absolutely faithful to his own poetic concerns, regardless of a predominantly atheistic environment and changing literary fashions. He teaches that half the battle is knowing what not to listen to". Sinead Morrissey's poems seldom fall short of the ideals she sets herself.
Affected by the poets of Northern Ireland, Sinead acknowledges a particular debt to the Welsh poet R. S. Thomas, remarking on his "absolute clarity of language and the directness of a vision which is both beautiful and terrifying". She adds, "Thomas inspires me because he is absolutely faithful to his own poetic concerns, regardless of a predominantly atheistic environment and changing literary fashions. He teaches that half the battle is knowing what not to listen to". Sinead Morrissey's poems seldom fall short of the ideals she sets herself.
About the author
Sinead Morrissey was born in 1972 and grew up in Belfast. She read English and German at Trinity College, Dublin, from which she took her PhD in 2003. Her five collections are "There Was Fire in Vancouver" (1996), "Between Here and There" (2002), "The State of the Prisons" (2005), "Through the Square Window" (2009) and the T. S. Eliot Prize-winning "Parallax" (2013) all of which are published by Carcanet Press. She has lived in Germany, Japan and New Zealand and now lectures in creative writing at the Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry, Queen's University, Belfast. She is Belfast's inaugural Poet Laureate.
Reviews
Awards won by Sinead Morrissey
Winner, 2013 T. S. Eliot Prize for Poetry (Parallax)
Poetry Book Society Choice for Through the Square Window (2009)
Winner of UK National Poetry Competition for the poem 'Through the Square Window' (2007)
Winner of a Lannan Literary Fellowship (2007)
Poetry Book Society Recommendation for The State of the Prisons (2005)
Shortlisted for the John Llewellyn Rhys Commonwealth Literature Prize for The State of the Prisons (2005)
Shortlisted for the Irish Times Poetry Prize for The State of the Prisons (2005)
Shortlisted for the T. S. Eliot Prize for The State of the Prisons (2005)
Joint winner of the Michael Hartnett Award for Poetry for The State of the Prisons (2005)
Shortlisted for the T. S. Eliot Prize for Between Here and There (2002).
MaCaulay Fellowship (2002)
Rupert and Eithne Strong Award for Between Here and There (2002).
An Eric Gregory Award for There Was Fire in Vancouver (1996)
Patrick Kavanagh Award for Poetry (1990)
Winner, 2013 T. S. Eliot Prize for Poetry (Parallax)
Poetry Book Society Choice for Through the Square Window (2009)
Winner of UK National Poetry Competition for the poem 'Through the Square Window' (2007)
Winner of a Lannan Literary Fellowship (2007)
Poetry Book Society Recommendation for The State of the Prisons (2005)
Shortlisted for the John Llewellyn Rhys Commonwealth Literature Prize for The State of the Prisons (2005)
Shortlisted for the Irish Times Poetry Prize for The State of the Prisons (2005)
Shortlisted for the T. S. Eliot Prize for The State of the Prisons (2005)
Joint winner of the Michael Hartnett Award for Poetry for The State of the Prisons (2005)
Shortlisted for the T. S. Eliot Prize for Between Here and There (2002).
MaCaulay Fellowship (2002)
Rupert and Eithne Strong Award for Between Here and There (2002).
An Eric Gregory Award for There Was Fire in Vancouver (1996)
Patrick Kavanagh Award for Poetry (1990)