The distinguished playwright and poet Dan O’Brien discusses his memoir From Scarsdale (Dalkey Archive Press, 2023), with Joseph Planta.

From Scarsdale by Dan O’Brien (Harbour Publishing, 2023). Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: From Scarsdale

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

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

Dan O’Brien joins me again. The distinguished playwright and poet has just published a memoir, From Scarsdale. It’s not just a beautifully written book, but it’s candid, honest, and insightful. And it’s not just those things when the writer thinks about himself and his upbringing, but he channels that sensitivity when pondering the lives of those around him growing up, his siblings, and his parents. At the age of 12, Dan’s older brother attempts suicide. Soon after the attitude of Dan’s mother and father is to not say anything. There’s no talk about it, and certainly no reference about it to others. This repression has consequences on Dan and his siblings alike. Soon after this trauma, Dan develops obsessive-compulsive disorder, and having to contend with that amongst his parents secrets and lies, not to mention undiagnosed mental illness affects Dan’s life and upbringing. It’s not until he discovers literature and the theatre, that he finds an escape of sorts. Dan’s been on this podcast seven times in the last ten years. We’ve talked about his work as a playwright and poet. We’ve also talked about cancer, illness, marriage, fatherhood, and the estrangement from his parents. He works through some of that in this book, and to get the backstory as it were, to get a sense of what Scarsdale, New York was like for Dan growing up, explains a little bit about how complex we all are thanks to our pasts, and the people around us in those formative years. We’ll talk about memory too. Dan O’Brien has been recognised for his work as a writer with many accolades, among them, a Guggenheim Fellowship for Drama, two PEN America Awards for Playwriting, and the UK’s Fenton Aldenburgh Poetry Prize. Visit www.danobrien.org for more information. This new book is published by Dalkey Archive Press. He joined me from Los Angeles two weeks ago. Please welcome back to the Planta: On the Line program, Dan O’Brien; Mr. O’Brien, good morning.

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