The poet and playwright Dan O’Brien discusses his new collection of poetry Survivor’s Notebook (Acre Books, 2023), with Joseph Planta.

Survivor’s Notebook by Dan O’Brien (Acre Books, 2023). Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Survivor’s Notebook

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.

In the life of this podcast, one of my favourite people to talk to is Dan O’Brien. The poet and playwright has been on six times previously over ten years now. We’ve talked about his writing, and whether it’s for the stage or memoir, or poetry, I find I understand life a little bit better. He’s got a new collection of poetry out now, Survivor’s Notebook. Just as his wife, the actor, writer and producer Jessica St. Clair, was going through her own cancer diagnosis and treatment, Dan is diagnosed with cancer himself. The 2021 collection Our Cancers, chronicles that tremendous upheaval in their life, while this new collection takes us through some of that trauma and charts a path forward. There are poems in this book that look at how identity is shaped by illness, the threat of death, and the procedures undertaken as one heals. There are pieces that look at superstition, chance, and self-criticism, as well as distill the beauty that’s around us if we just take the time to appreciate it. I found the pieces in the book that ponder survival and why we survive not just moving but necessary. Dan O’Brien is a playwright, poet, essayist, memoirist, and librettist. His play The House in Scarsdale: A Memoir for the Stage, winner of the 2018 PEN America Award in Drama. His website is at www.danobrien.org. This new collection is published by Acre Books. It’s always good to talk to Dan, and I’m pleased to note that I’ll be speaking with him again in a few weeks as he’s also got two other books coming out shortly, a memoir, and a collection of his plays. We taped this conversation nineteen days ago. Please welcome back to the Planta: On the Line program, Dan O’Brien; Mr. O’Brien, good morning.

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