3 Sections Explained

Italic Title:3 Sections
3 Sections
Author:Vijay Seshadri
Country:United States of America
Genre:Poetry
Publisher:Graywolf Press
Pub Date:2013
Isbn:978-1-55597-716-0

3 Sections is a 2013 poetry collection written by Vijay Seshadri and published by Graywolf Press. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 2014.[1]

Description

3 sections is mostly made up of free verse poems, though the collection notably includes a prose piece ("Pacific Fishes of Canada") and a long-form poem ("Personal Essay").[2] Despite the collection's title, the divisions between the eponymous "3 Sections" remain ambiguous, possibly separated into "divisions of contemporary life—a wayward history, an indeterminate future, and a perpectual long to out-think time" or divided by form (free verse poems / prose / long poem).[3]

Reception and Critical Engagement

The Pulitzer citation for the collection called the book,

"a compelling collection of poems that examine human consciousness, from birth to dementia, in a voice that is by turns witty and grave, compassionate and remorseless."

Lauren Hilger in Green Mountain Review argued that the collection's inclusion of an essay-like prose piece is a call for readers to reevaluate their definitions of poetry.[4]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 3 Sections, by Vijay Seshadri via The Pulitzer Prize .
  2. Web site: Bherwani . Bhisham . Review: On Vijay Seshadri's "3 Sections" The American Reader . theamericanreader.com . July 26, 2024.
  3. Web site: 3 Sections — Graywolf Press . www.graywolfpress.org.
  4. Web site: Hilger . Lauren . Review of 3 Sections by Vijay Seshadri . Green Mountains Review . July 26, 2024 . 16 January 2014.