Today we talk to renaissance man Stacey Case about Who’s the Man? Billy Van! Stacey was the proprietor of Hamilton’s Billy Van museum, and worked with author Greg Oliver on this in-depth bio of the Canadian performer (and, of course, star of Hamilton’s legendary Hilarious House of Frightenstein). Enjoy!
reading
E169 with DOROTHY ELLEN PALMER
Hey all! Last night I had the pleasure of attending the launch for Amanda Leduc‘s new book, Disfigured: On Fairy Tales, Disability, and Making Space. This is the second incredible book about disability that I’ve read lately. The first was the extremely passionate and eye-opening Falling For Myself by Dorothy Ellen Palmer. A must-read, in my opinion. Check out today’s show for our conversation.
GET LIT E59 with Zoey Leigh Peterson
Happy New Year to everyone who has wandered by this site, listened to GET LIT, bought or borrowed my book…thank you so much for your support!
The holidays were spent holidaying. I assumed with all the “spare time” (a euphemism for “cleaning, socializing and sleeping”) I’d get some writing done, but alas, I did not. I got back to it yesterday, though. It’s like all the working out I didn’t do…don’t lament, just get back on the train.
This week’s GET LIT features author Zoey Leigh Peterson. Her debut novel – Next Year, For Sure – was given a Giller nod, making it to the long list. Tune in and enjoy!
GET LIT E42 with DANIEL COLEMAN
Another week, another show!
The autumn is a time of general frenzy at my day job (I may have mentioned before, I’m the program director at 93.3 CFMU FM, where I record Get Lit). That’s why there’s been nothing pithy or interesting, assuming you ever find me pithy or interesting, in these blog entries. What can I say? I spent some time in Killarney before rushing headlong into the return of McMaster students.
Speaking of McMaster, today’s show features Daniel Coleman, Ph.D., McMaster professor and author of Yardwork: A Biography of an Urban Place. I tweeted about this book a few weeks ago. When it was described to me as a guy writing about the history of his backyard (that may be a paraphrase), it sounded pretty unusual. However, I trusted the enthusiasm of his publisher Noelle Allen of Wolsak & Wynn. Sure enough, it’s a fantastic read, filled with interesting information for locals and beyond. Heck, it even gave me useful information for my day to day life (read: I used Daniel’s facts to reply to Neko Case on Twitter. Awesome, but maybe sad that I consider that “useful…for my day to day life.” Though I really really like Neko Case).
Enjoy!
GET LIT E39 with DAVID BAILLIE
Hey folks! I probably have some writerly musings…but what I do not have is time. So let’s get to the main event!
Today GET LIT features David Baillie. We got to hang out over pints and talk about the old days here in Hamilton, and we continue that conversation on today’s show as we talk about his latest novel released in 2015, What We Salvage, which Baillie describes loosely as “Holden Caulfield, but from the wrong side of the tracks, coming of age in A Clockwork Orange.” Sounds about right to me. Hope you enjoy the show.
GET LIT E22 with Janie Chang
Welcome to another show! Welcome to another week without a real blog, even though I promise them endlessly! Welcome to my life. Sheesh.
Did have some authorial adventures last week, though! These days you never actually have to meet the people who publish you. That was certainly the case for me. The fantastic Aimee Dunn at Palimpsest Press has been a digital presence, even down to the edits on the PDF of my manuscript. It’s normal now, but still, a little strange, so I jumped at a chance to hop on the VIA and head down to Windsor for a reading. It was a modest affair (as many readings are) but that’s really not the point. If you’re in writing to make money, you’re finished before you start. Likewise, if you’re doing readings for the roar of the crowd, you’re in the wrong business – take up fire eating instead. You do it because it’s really fun to do. You do it to improve your reading abilities. You do it to meet other authors, share experiences, and maybe, just maybe, for those two or three people who come up to you afterward and say “Actually, your Scottish accent isn’t terrible at all.”
You also do it for the train. Damn, that’s the way to get to Windsor, I tell ya.
A great interview with Janie Chang this week. She’s great, very enjoyable chat. Check out her book Dragon Springs Road.
Janie is also the person behind Authors for Indies. Independent bookstores in Hamilton are also participating in the event April 29. Including me! Come see me at Epic Books from 3 – 5 pm.