Parallax: And Selected Poems

Parallax is the fifth poetry collection written by Irish poet Sinéad Morrissey.[1] First published in 2013, by Carcanet Press, the collection of poems focus on the premise of the appearance and position of an object being changed by the change in the position of the observer.[2] In 2015, after becoming the fourth shortlisted poem written by Morrissey, it received the T. S. Eliot Prize.[3]

Parallax: And Selected Poems
AuthorSinéad Morrissey
LanguageEnglish
SubjectPoetry > Subjects & Themes > General
GenrePoetry
PublisherCarcanet Press
Publication date
06/28/2013
Pages69
ISBN1847774423
Preceded byThrough the Square Window 

Themes and ideas

Parallax's theme is the parallax. "Parallax", by definition, means "the apparent displacement or the difference in apparent direction of an object as seen from two different points not on a straight line with the object".[4] The collection focuses on the change in position of an object being changed by the actual viewpoint of the observer.

Conception

Morrissey states in an interview that what inspired the idea and creation of the poems were pictures she would find in books and on the internet. Most notably, images of the slums in Belfast photographed by the Edwardian photographer Alexander Robert Hogg.[5] After the creation of the poetry, she decided on a title after discussing the photographic term "parallax" with her colleague at Queens, the term refers to the disjunction of what the photographer sees through the viewfinder and what is taken through the aperture.[6]

Reception

Parallax has received positive reception from the majority of sources. British poet Ian Duhig, the chair of the final judging panel for the T.S. Eliot Prize, praised the collection as "politically, historically and personally ambitious, expressed in beautifully turned language".[7]

Fran Brearton, reviewing the collection for The Guardian, praises the collection as "a deft exploration of the artificiality of art in framing and containing its subject". She commented on Morrissey's writing, saying that there is more to the poems than what is presented on the surface with her "clarity of style and clean lines", that each poem provides more than what meets the eye, fitting the theme of the poetry collection.[1]

gollark: And power won't save you from horrible flooding. Unless you live underwater but no.
gollark: Technically maybe; practically no.
gollark: Vertical farming and hydroponics could maybe work eventually but it'd be a very hard switch.
gollark: You do know that that involves plants right? And land area?
gollark: Also, unflooded coastal areas and bearable weather.

References
  1. Brearton, Fran (6 September 2013). "Parallax by Sinéad Morrissey - review". The Guardian. The Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  2. Morrissey, Sinéad (12 May 2015). Parallax: And Selected Poems. Great Britain: Carcanet Press. p. 3. ISBN 9781847774422. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  3. Doyle, Martin (21 September 2017). "Sinéad Morrissey wins £10,000 Forward poetry prize". Irish Times. The Irish Times. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  4. "Definition of parallax". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  5. O’Toole, Fintan (6 Oct 2016). "Modern Ireland in 100 Artworks: 2013 - Parallax, by Sinéad Morrissey". The Irish Times Company. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  6. Flood, Alison (14 January 2014). "Sinéad Morrissey: 'The best moment of my life'". The Guardian. The Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  7. Burke-Kennedy, Eoin (13 January 2013). "Irish poet Sinéad Morrissey wins prestigious TS Eliot Prize". The Irish Times. The Irish Times Company. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
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