I first met Sean Michaels as a member of the grand jury for the Polaris Music Prize. He very modestly told me he was “working on a book.” That book, of course, was the Giller-winning Us Conductors. I got to speak to him about that book, and again when he released The Wagers (we did an event together and it recorded it to be two episodes). Sean’s newest, Do You Remember Being Born, is fantastic. Hope you enjoy our conversation.
Sean Michaels
E159 with SEAN MICHAELS (Pt 2)
Here’s the second half of the Sean Michaels show, recorded in conversation at the Hamilton Public Library. Not only do we talk about The Wagers but there’s a Q&A at the end and an amazing story about luck that involves an infamous software developer. Trust me.
Once again, apologizes for the sound quality; there was no way to monitor as we recorded and any time one of us speaks too loudly there is distortion. The conversation was so good and Sean is so entertaining and insightful that we decided to air it anyway. Dig!
E158 with SEAN MICHAELS (Pt 1)
Hey folks! A few weeks back, I was given the opportunity to host Sean Michaels in conversation at the Hamilton Public Library. I’ve known Sean since 2013, before his Giller-winning Us Conductors was released; we met on the grand jury for the Polaris Music Prize.
It was fantastic to get to talk to Sean, at length, about his newest novel. The Wagers is a very different book than Us Conductors, but I loved it immensely just the same.
This episode is separated into two parts (the second comes next week). I must apologize for the sound quality; there was no way to monitor as we recorded and any time one of us speaks too loudly there is distortion. I weighed the pros and cons and decided to air it anyhow, as the conversation was so good and Sean is so entertaining and insightful. Enjoy!
E152 with GEOFFREY TAYLOR and JACLYN DESFORGES
Hey all!
Got to spend last night having dinner with Sean Michaels and his excellent publicist Ruta from Penguin Random House. After that Sean and I were in conversation at the Hamilton Public Library, talking about his new book, The Wagers. It was a great time, and you’ll hear our chat on an upcoming episode.
This week we talk with Geoffrey Taylor. He’s stepping down as director of the Toronto International Festival of Authors, so we had one last conversation on the topic. The festival starts Oct 24 and runs through Nov 3.
We also speak with poet Jaclyn Desforges, who talks about (and reads from) her chapbook Hello Nice Man. Enjoy the show!
E07 with SEAN MICHAELS
Hey folks!
In the early days of this program, I wasn’t swamped with wonderful reading material as I am today. This is one of the few examples of a filler – i.e. when I took a past interview and “turned it into” an episode of Get Let.
But what filler! 2014 Scotiabank Giller Prize winner Sean Michaels!
I had the distinct pleasure of working, however briefly, with Sean Michaels. As he runs the music blog Said the Gramophone, he’s considered a music journo; as Program Director at CFMU and freelancer, I am the same. As such, we’re both on the jury for the Polaris Music Prize. In 2013, the year of the “controversial” Godspeed You! Black Emperor win, both Sean and I were on the grand jury. He was “working on a book” at the time and was remarkably modest about it, even though that book turned out to be the fabulous Us Conductors. If you watched the Gillers that year, that look of shock on his face when he won? 100% genuine. A humble fellow and a cool dude.
Anyhow, I interviewed him a propos of nothing, and here it is now, repackaged as episode seven of Get Lit. Dig!