With introductions, commentary and five new poems derived from Donne's elegies by Doug Beardsley and Al Purdy. In 1998, the poets Al Purdy and Doug Beardsley spent many hours in Victoria's Waddling Dog Pub discussing the often-neglected poetry of D.H. Lawrence. The result was No One Else is Lawrence!, acclaimed by readers across the country.

This time the two turn their attention to John Donne, the Renaissance poet whose work has fascinated students and lovers of poetry for centuries. The Man Who Outlived Himself is an engaging rassle with some wonderful poems-must reading for Donne fans everywhere and an intimate look at the tastes and sensibilities of two important contemporary Canadian poets. Their commentary, lying somewhere between criticism and conversation, invites enthusiasm for the strangest English language poet. Born in London in 1572, the third of six children, Donne was both intellectual and eccentric: he slept in his own coffin, wore his own shroud, and sired eleven children in fourteen years, all while serving as Dean of St. Paul's. The Man Who Outlived Himself includes a selection of Donne's poems, with commentary, plus five Donne elegies, each followed by an "interpretive and transformative" new poem by Purdy and Beardsley. The last pages contain two poems to Ann Donne by Purdy and Beardsley.

Doug Beardsley has produced both poetry and prose that is visionary and historically rich. His celebrated friendships with Canadian legends Irving Layton and Al Purdy have further informed his writing and created a legacy of fourteen books dating back to the mid 1970s. He has published over 200 poems in a wide variety of periodicals; given over 125 poetry readings; and written over 250 book reviews. He has been nominated for the BC Poetry Prize and the George Woodcock Prize. Beardsley lives in Victoria, BC.

Doug Beardsley's profile page

Al Purdy’s down-to-earth voice populates thirty-three books, including The Cariboo Horses (1965), North of Summer (1967), Sex & Death (1973), and Piling Blood (1984). The two major collections of his work are The Collected Poems of Al Purdy (1986) and Beyond Remembering: The Collected Poems of Al Purdy (2000). Purdy died in Sidney, BC, on April 21, 2000.

Robert Budde teaches creative writing and critical theory at the University of Northern British Columbia in Prince George. He has published four books (two poetry—Catch as Catch and traffick, and two novels—Misshapen and, most recently, The Dying Poem). He maintains two online literary journals at and .

Russell Morton Brown is a professor in the department of English at the University of Toronto. An editor for the University of Toronto Quarterly, the editor of The Collected Poems of Al Purdy, and co-editor with Donna Bennett of the New Anthology of Canadian Literature in English, he was also Editorial Director of Poetry at McClelland and Stewart for five years.

Al Purdy's profile page

• Winner, BC 2000 BOOK PRIZE