Stephen Morrissey
Stephen Morrissey was born in Montreal. Morrissey earned
his B.A., Honours English with Distinction, at Sir George Williams
University (now Concordia University) in 1973. He studied with poet Louis
Dudek at McGill University (M.A. English, 1976). Morrissey published his
first poetry book, The Trees of Unknowing, in 1978 (Montreal, Vehicule
Press). Other books by Morrissey include Divisions (Toronto, Coach House
Press, 1983); Family Album (Vancouver, Caitlin Press, 1989); The Compass
(Montreal, Empyreal Press, 1993), The Yoni Rocks (Montreal, Empyreal
Press, 1995), and The Mystic Beast (Montreal, Empyreal Press, 1997); and
Mapping the Soul, Selected Poems 1978-1998 (Winnipeg, The Muse's Company,
1998). Morrissey was a member of the Vehicule Poets who helped bring
contemporary and experimental poetry to a wider audience in Montreal in
the 1970s-1980s. Morrissey's literary papers are housed at Rare Books and
Special Collections, McLennan Library, McGill University. La Bête
Mystique, a French translation of The Mystic Beast, was published by Les
Editions Triptyque (Montreal, 2004). In 2000, he and Carolyn Zonailo
founded Coracle Press which publishes poetry chapbooks. He is the author
of a comprehensive history of his family, Patrick Morrissy and Mary
Phelan: Some of their Descendants and Relatives in Canada, beginning in
1837 to the present day. Stephen Morrissey has read his work at
universities and other venues in the United States and across Canada, in
New York City, Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, and other venues.
awards: - Won the Peterson Poetry Award at McGill University in 1976
- In 1997 the Government of Quebec named an island in northern Quebec
after a phrase from one of Morrissey's poems, "La Vingt-Septieme Lettre".
Selected Publications
Mapping the Soul: Selected Poems 1978-1998. (The Muses' Company,
1998) ISBN: 1-896239-42-0
The Mystic Beast (Empyreal Press,
1997)
ISBN: 0-921852-16-9
The Yoni Rocks (Empyreal Press,
1995)
ISBN: 0-921852-07-X
The Compass (Empyreal Press,
1995)
ISBN: 0-921852-04-5
Selected Anthologies
Windhorse Reader: Choice Poems of '93. (Samurai Press, 1994).
Quebec Suite: Poems For and About Quebec. (The Muses' Co.,
1995).
Contre-taille, poemes choisis et traduit de 25 auteurs
canadiens-anglais. (Editions Triptyque, 1996).
Books in Print
Morrissey, Stephen
Family Album (Caitlin Press, 1989) ISBN: 0-920576-26-5, $8.95
The Compass (Empyreal Press, 1993) ISBN: 0-921852-04-5. , $10.00
The Yoni Rocks (Empyreal Press, 1995) ISBN 0-921852-07-X, $12.00
The Mystic Beast (Empyreal Press, 1997) ISBN: 0-921852-16-9.
Stephen Morrissey
www.stephenmorrissey.ca
www.coraclepress.com
www.stephenmorrisseyblog.bogspot.com
www.vehiculepoets.com
