Today’s show features SJ Sindu, whose book Marriage of A Thousand Lies has been called an “important” book. I get that. It’s the story of a queer person of colour in America. In the words of Robert Olen Butler, it’s “a remarkable novel rich with interlocking issues both timeless and timely..more than impressive; it’s important.” I highly recommend you check it out, and in the meantime, check out today’s show. Enjoy!
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GET LIT E35 with Aisha Sasha John and Phoebe Wang
I am really terrible at writing poetry.
Some might argue I’m really terrible at writing prose, too, and that’s fair enough. Still, at least I managed to get prose published over the years. I have never submitted a poem to be published. The last time I actively wrote poetry it was the stuff I read aloud at the Bahaus Cafe poetry night – sub-Bukowskian observations from the gutter I believed I lived in I was mostly content and angst was strictly the product of an equation (age + temporary poverty x literary ambitions + alcohol & cigarettes x loneliness ÷ actual talent = “Oh, lonely moon, i look upon thee and I see…myself) (and even that I stole from a Henry Rollins joke).
When I recently came back to poetry – reading poetry, that is, not writing it – I found it very difficult. I was used to reading in different ways, with more linear thinking, perhaps. I really didn’t have a clue what anyone was trying to say. Now, at the very least, I find myself able to rest inside a poem, instead of trying to follow its words to the conclusion. It makes a big difference and it’s been a wonderful learning (and re-learning) experience.
Today’s interviews are with two wonderful poets. First up is Phoebe Wang, who I had the pleasure of seeing read at a Lit Live event earlier this. She read from her most recent work Admission Requirements. Next, I speak with Aisha Sasha John, who is a poet and a performer. Her collection I Have To Live is fantastic. I highly recommend them both. Hope you enjoy the show!
GET LIT E34 with David Layton
Summer fun is exhausting. Yet I manage to plug away at the new book! In the meantime I understand The Captain of Kinnoull Hill is finally going to be reviewed…I’ll obviously be posting that when it happens 🙂
In the meantime, this week’s show. I spoke with David Layton about his new book The Dictator. He’s a successful author of fiction and memoir, a creative writing teacher, and if you want historical context, the son of famous poet Irving Layton (and, fun fact, Leonard Cohen was his godfather). Enjoy!
GET LIT E33: Darryl Whetter and Suzannah Showler
Good day folks! Not much in way way of bloggy thoughts today, so let’s get down to the episode.
Today’s show features two poets. First up, Suzannah Showler, author of Thing Is (Penguin Random House). Next is Darryl Whetter, author of Search Box Bed (Palimpsest). I haven’t done a lot of poetry but we’re going to start, with upcoming shows featuring Aisha Sasha John, Phoebe Wang, and plans to speak with Gary Barwin, John Terpstra and Shane Neilson. Stay tuned!
Get Lit E32 with Mark Sampson
Hi everyone, hope your summer is going. Here in southern Ontario, the weather’s decidedly unsummery many days, but at least you can leave the house without risking frostbite, so my complaints are fairly muted.
Work on the new novel continues. Waking early in the morning is far less painful now. The new pain is one some of you know all too well – grant applications. The Canada Council generously offers grants for research and creation, so I’m applying for one of those to cover the costs of heading to Japan for research. I missed the deadline that would have me approved/declined in September, but I’m going whether or not I get the grant, so I’m going to apply and find out if I get money in March. Why not. Still, grant writing. Ugh.
Today’s show is a great one because it features Mark Sampson, poet and author of Sad Peninsula and The Slip, his most recent novel (with Dundurn Press). I met Mark at the Ontario Library Association Super Conference, as we share a publisher (not Dundurn, but Palimpsest). I’m happy to have had the privilege. There’s also that weird little bit of serendipity involving his wife Rebecca Rosenblum, which you might recall from episode 25.
You’ll also notice that there’s a weird technical glitch two or three minutes from the end. Turns out you can work in a place for almost twenty years and still forget about the existence of an important power switch (and, hence, not think about it when your guest back his chair into it).
Enjoy the show!
Get Lit E31 with J.C. Villamere
Hey folks!
Errant observations and unsolicited advice ahead.
One of the toughest things about writing a novel is realizing that you have committed to such a long endeavor. Knowing that it could take months or years (the latter is more likely) will play tricks on you. What if I write half a novel, and nothing is any good, and I have to start again? How many years will that set me back? Should I write what comes to mind, and cut from there, or should I force myself to be lean and mean and get to the point? What if I waste several months on research? Dammit, I only have 90 minutes in the morning on weekdays, how much time will that take to finish this beast?
My answer – and it may not be yours – is that I have very slowly learned not to give a shit. I am resigned to the fact that this novel could take many years, resigned to the fact that I’m not getting any younger, resigned to the fact that you can’t rush something as expansive and all-consuming as a novel. In my newest project, for example, there’s a book. It’s kind of a MacGuffin, kind of not. The contents of this book, however, have to be shared at some point. You can’t say “Hey, reader, here’s this book – sorry we don’t have time to get into it, just trust us that it contains very important information.” People recommended I write the story – write the book within a book – and I immediately thought “Ah, jeez, this is gonna take forever….”
In the end, it only took a few weeks, and I can’t believe how important it has been. The lesson? It’s OK to take your time, as long as you’re doing the work.
I had no reason whatsoever to tell you that, it was just on my mind.
This week we talk to J.C. Villamere about her entertainingly hilarious book “Is Canada Even Real? How A Nation Built On Hobos, Beavers, Weirdos and Hip Hop Convinced The World To Beliebe.” It’s a title that’s hard to remember but also can’t be forgotten. You can pick it up thanks to Dundurn Press. Hope you enjoy!
Get Lit E30 with Sally Cooper and Gary Barwin
Hi folks,
The experiment in early rising in order to write seems to be working. By the end of the month, I should be finished a short story that is also the nexus of a new novel. Stay tuned.
This week I talked briefly to Gary Barwin about winning the Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour. We also plugged his performance as part of the Something Else festival, in which he and Stuart Ross will be performing (or performed, depending on when you’re reading this) sound poetry together.
Our feature interview is with Hamilton author Sally Cooper, who talks about her great new collection Smells Like Heaven, available through ARP Books. Hope you enjoy!
Get Lit 29 with Paul Benedetti
It’s been two weeks since I was (intentionally) sequestered on Pelee Island at the Pelee Island Book House. I can say that I have, amazingly, maintained some of the momentum I gained working on my newest novel. I’ve also been asked, more than once, what it was like to do workshops – and be critiqued by – Margaret Atwood.
What can I tell you?
The mood at the retreat was one of anxious anticipation. Some people went a little beyond “anxious anticipation” in to “freaking out a little bit.” Though no one expected Ms. Atwood to come through the door guns a-blazing, it was still remarkably nerve-wracking to know the nation’s most famous author – whose biggest book was recently back on the bestseller list because of a television adaptation, even – was reading your work, thinking about your work, and critiquing your work.
It was pouring rain when she arrived, and could barely be heard above the rain on the roof of the sunroom – but once we’d all relocated to the big kitchen table, we began to relax. We spent two days at that table with Margaret (which is what we called her – no one was cocky enough to go for “Peggy”), days in which we discussed one another’s work, asked questions, and even shared lunch alongside her long-time partner Graeme Gibson, who dropped in both days.
The title of the workshop was “The First Five,” and we were supposed to submit the first five pages of a novel. That wasn’t the case for everyone, but it was close enough for jazz. Margaret’s critiques ran from line edits to deep discussions about major changes needed in the work. She liked mine, which was encouraging, though she did confirm something that I knew would be a major concern down the road.
So, what was she like? Was she going to be acerbic, or snarky? We know she doesn’t suffer fools. Well, luckily for us, none of us were terrible fools – she was extremely kind. Not like over-the-top sweet, she’s too wry for that…and she was quick to call you out if you needed calling out. Still, she was kind and fair and generous with her answers, criticisms and time. She told a lot of stories and was very funny. She seemed more relaxed on the second day, since we were no longer strangers. She honestly seemed to enjoy herself.
She would find items in your work to expand upon – whether it was Sumerian myth or Victorian dress or the history of zombies. Her sharpness was extraordinary and her depth of knowledge almost unbelievable. “How do I know all this?” she joked/mused at one point. “I’m old!” She answered questions about our work, and questions about herself as well (barring the ones she doesn’t answer, ever, such as “Are you working on something right now?”). And did I mention funny? Can’t stress that enough. She had a delightful way of cracking a joke, surveying the table, noting that we were all laughing, and then joining in the laughter.
As far as meeting literary geniuses go, the experience was as good as you can hope for.
On this week’s radio program I got the distinct pleasure of talking with long-time acquaintance Paul Benedetti. He was one of the younger gents in the newsroom when I first started my column at the Hamilton Spectator in 1992. I recall him being kind, encouraging, and a heck of a natty dresser. I enjoyed catching up with him and talking about his collection of columns, You Can Have A Dog When I’m Dead. Hope you enjoy our conversation.
GET LIT E28 with Claire Cameron
Last week I had the pleasure of heading out to beautiful Pelee Island. No, I wasn’t buying wine (well, okay, I did buy some wine) and I wasn’t birding (though all those wild turkeys were cool). I spent seven days on a writer’s retreat at the Pelee Island Book House, and I can’t recommend it enough. This isn’t a sales pitch, though I’m a big fan of Dawn Kresan, who owns the Book House – she’s a fabulous poet the all ’round cool woman who used to own Palimpsest, my publisher, and even designed my book cover. It’s more of a “damn, I’m enthusiastic and need to share my enthusiasm” sort of thing.
There were a few reasons it was such a great experience, and part of that is just the nature of a retreat itself. I must have written well over 5,000 words (I wasn’t keeping track, really) and had some major breakthroughs. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to work with long stretches, being so used to small slivers of writing time. Turns out, yes, it’s all good. Of course, much of it was the environment. When you have to take a 90-minute ferry ride to get somewhere (on top of a 3.5 hour drive) you certainly feel like you’ve left the daily world grind behind. The House is on the shores of Erie, and between the crashing waves and constant birdsong, it was like natural white noise; accumulated stress faded quickly. It’s a big cottage, so there’s plenty of room; even with three fellas in a bedroom, it never felt crowded. The rest of the house is laid out in such a way that we were all able to stake out our spaces and work uninterrupted if we chose.
Of course, we collaborated, read, talked and socialized. Having like-minded people in the House was invaluable. I was able to just wander up to people and ask actual writing questions. People respected each other’s work and each other’s space without being distant and unapproachable. There was a little summer camp syndrome – you know, a small group of people in close quarters for a short time, sharing an important experience, tends to stoke bonding that’s fairly intense by normal adult life standards.
Thanks to Dawn and the eleven incredible writers I met and befriended. Oh, and there was also, you know, hangin’ with Margaret Atwood…but I’ll talk about that next week.
In the meantime, a great show today with Claire Cameron, the best-selling author who took the time to join me and discuss her latest novel, The Last Neanderthal. Enjoy!
GET LIT E27 with Simon Donato
Good morning folks!
Other than the minutiae of my life (car dying, mom’s birthday, other excitements) I have little to share with you this week other than an excellent edition of the show featuring television personality, athlete and (now) author, Simon Donato. I hope you dig it!
As for me, by the time you read this, I’ll be at the Pelee Island Book House on my first-ever writing retreat, so I’m sure I’ll have lots to share next time. Cheers!