There Was Fire in Vancouver

by Sinéad Morrissey

This book of poems is organized around the theme of the from communism to spiritual affirmation; from life in Ireland to life abroad, and return; and from the security of given structures - the family in particular—to independence and security in the self. Poems of childhood and communist upbringing open the collection. There are poems about death; about love, its loss and the disorientation that ensues; and a number which deal with angels and the implications of religious faith.

Genres: Poetry

60 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1996

About the author

Raised in Belfast, she was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, where she took BA and PhD degrees, and won the Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award in 1990. She has published four collections of poetry: There Was Fire in Vancouver (1996), Between Here and There (2001), The State of the Prisons (2005), and Through the Square Window (2009), the second, third and fourth of which were shortlisted for the T. S. Eliot Prize. After periods living in Japan and New Zealand she now lives in Belfast, where she has been writer-in-residence at Queen's University, Belfast and currently lectures.

Her collection, The State of the Prisons, was shortlisted for the Poetry Now Award in 2006. In November 2007, she received a Lannan Foundation Fellowship for "distinctive literary merit and for demonstrating potential for continued outstanding work". Her poem "Through the Square Window" won first prize in the 2007 British National Poetry Competition. Her collection, Through the Square Window, won the Poetry Now Award for 2010.

Reviews

[One Sassy Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this for college and I will be copy+paste”ing” this review into all of her collections, as I have currently read everything from the 1st collection - “there was fire in Vancouver” - to the 6th and most recent - “on balance”.

I think Sinéad Morrissey’s poetry is among the best that I have ever read or had the pleasure to study. However, she isn’t a favourite of mine. I think that, personally, I like poetry that I can identify myself with/ poems that really resonate with me. It doesn’t mean that I won’t appreciate or bow down to the many beautiful poems she wrote about mythology/legends/travelling… Her poems about japan are absolutely incredible.

Nevertheless, I do appreciate autobiographical poetry more. I think I particularly tend to enjoy poetry from the 20th back more. So, it’s not surprising for me that I end up enjoying Eavan Boland’s poetry more, for example. There’s just something missing in most contemporary poetry for me. Some feeling that I get from “older” poetry that I don’t from poetry written post-90’s/ early 00’s.

[Tiffany]

Reread September 4, 2016

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I've been hesitating to write my review because this is not your usual easy fare. Many of the poems require context, and while I've travelled a bit my context for this book was severely lacking.

I saw this writer speak at Georgetown university in an enormous love-in. There were at least 100 students leaning forward on their seats to receive her words with passion and amazement.

It

[scarlettraces · Rating 4 out of 5]

(4.5)