Sean O’ Brien: Poetry is political, all writing is political

Sean O’ Brien was born in London in 1952. Shortly afterwards, he moved to Hull, where he grew up, thus firmly cementing an allegiance to the North of England: a subject he explores in much of his poetry.

In these Collected Poems, that begin with his debut, The Indoor Park (1983), and end with his most recent collection, November (2011), O’ Brien displays his remarkable contribution to British poetry over the last three decades.

Whether it’s in the post-industrial North of England landscapes that he uses as a milieu; or the more imaginative settings that weave in and out of history, O Brien’s poems are never afraid to speak about political concerns, or ponder very pertinent questions of our time, such as: how the past relates to the present, and what effect does this collective historical narrative have, if any, on our individual lives?

While poetry is O’ Brien’s main concern, he is also a distinguished playwright, critic, novelist and broadcaster.