The Hellbox

The conceit that unites this poetry collection is the technology, lore, and tradition of printing. The Hellbox is the box into which printers chucked broken or worn hot-metal type. Delanty expands this conceit to include a wide human discourse of family feelings and affections. His own father was a master-printer, and some of the poems are expressions of the deepest love between father and son. The passing on of skills between generations is also taken up into the emotional and intellectual shaping of the work, as is the theme of genetic imprinting.