As #winterstormwarnings arrive, perhaps you may want to curl up with some of the writers' books that were shortlisted for the Quebec Writers' Federation awards - Linda speaks to some of the writers shortlisted for the Janet Savage Blachford Prize for Children's and Young Adult Literature, in addition to one of the poets shortlisted for the A.M. Klein Prize for Poetry. She also spoke about the QWF Gala and the times she slipped on floor-length ballgowns over her jeans for the Governor General's Awards before entering Rideau Hall in Ottawa. So she asked the writers interviewed for this episode how they felt about being shortlisted.

Linda opens this episode with a dedication to her nephew -- and then "shares the light" of Diwali with children's literature author, Mitali Ruths, with whom she chats about her book Archie Celebrates Diwali. Published this year by Charlesbridge Archie Celebrates Diwali is based on an epic, Ramayana, and focuses on the South-Asian festival of lights (3.45, 8.45, and 10.30). Mitali addresses Diwali's origins (3.45 and 4.37), how it is celebrated (15.11), and the reasons for writing this story (7.30, 8.45, 10.30 and 18.30). She makes reference to Sanjay Patel's Ramayana: Divine Loophole (8.27); the significance of Archie's name (a reference to archana and to the Emmy-winning British actress, Archie Panjabi, 20); her fabulous illustrator, Parwinder Singh (4 and 4.15); and, more generally, the plot and meaning of the book (20.30). Mitali also locates this book as one among several in a renaissance of South-Asian stories (9.35).

Happy Hallowe-en! This episode tackles a book that deals with ghosts, gruesome accidents, and murder -- Kevin Lambert's You Will Love What You Have Killed, translated by Donald Winkler (published by Biblioasis 2020) from the French (Tu Aimeras Ce Que Tu As Tué, 5.40). Linda begins this episode with a personal anecdote about a dead body that was found in a dog house (on the property of her parents' neighbours): she uses this narrative to explore the idea of the "repressed," that is, those emotions or moments or stories we would prefer to forget. Lambert, she argues, not only does not allow us to forget the repressed, he insists we grapple with its elements--it makes for a disorienting and yet bewitching read, as even Le Devoir in its review of the book noted (11.43)! Like reigning horror writer from Quebec, Patrick Senecal (5.16), Lambert is skilfully eliciting a sense of our horror, highlighting its effects by locating the events of the book in Chicoutimi, Quebec (6.26) and toppling stereotypical notions of romance, or picturesque rural areas as featured in books like Maria Chapdelaine (7.00).If you want to read other reviews about Lambert's book, you can visit CBC book reviews here or Xtra here).

In this episode, multiple award-winning Nisga'a author Jordan Abel and host Linda Morra discuss his most recent book, Nishga (published by McClelland & Stewart in 2020), the intergenerational legacies of trauma for residential school survivors, and the importance of not only listening to, but also "witnessing" their stories. He speaks about his relationship with his father's art and the kinds of "activism" that writing might perform.

Linda focuses on Indigenous writers in this podcast in view of Orange Shirt Day (every child matters!) and the inaugural National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. She recommends several writers (some of them featured on 49th shelf), including Cherie Dimaline and Joshua Whitehead.

Remember Shirley Temple, that Hollywood cinema's icon of idealized (white) girlhood? Linda looks up a short clip, "On the Good Ship Lollipop," and feels uncomfortable (trigger warning here) and explains why she and some of her students shared that experience. She considers the importance of contextualizing or historicizing our responses to cultural artefacts -- but, even so, there is good reason to feel uncomfortable about Temple's childhood performances. That's not necessarily the case for our interpretation of the heroine of the first part of Wayson Choy's The Jade Peony.

In this episode, addressing Jane Rule's Taking My Life (Talon Books), Linda discusses why bodies "complain" and what it means when they do. In the Takeaway section, she reviews Sara Ahmed's new book, Complaint (Duke University Press). In Complaint!, Ahmed examines institutional harassment and bullying, and how to read complaints that are lodged against such institutions. In the entirety of the episode, Linda is discussing how we respond to different forms of "grooming" (Ahmed) or bodily coercion - and why indeed the body complains.

In this episode, and as part of the Sealey challenge, Linda interviews poet and scholar, Chantel Lavoie, about her love for the poetry of Margaret Atwood - in particular, the collections Morning in the Burned House (Penguin Random House), The Door (Penguin Random House), and Dearly (HarperCollins).

We develop relationships with people and communities as we share stories with them--in fact, that is a sign of our role or place within the community--but we don't get to demand to hear them, especially when we are not a part of that community. In this episode, Linda examines Thomas King's collection, One Good Story, That One (published by HarperCollins), and particularly the story of the same title, with this idea in mind. She considers his literary technique in relation to Van Gogh's Starry Night (you can check out the painting in this Van Gogh immersive exhibition) and then his other story and graphic novel, Borders. The latter is relevant in relation to the Takeway portion of the podcast, in which she interviews her former student Darrin Prine about the genre. Darrin introduced her to Spice & Wolf (by Isuna Hasekura, with illustrations by Jū Ayakura), and in this section, he also makes reference to Goblin Slayer (by Kumo Kagyu), Watchmen (by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbon), Middlewest (by Skottie Young and Jorge Corona), and Full Metal Alchemist (by Hiromu Arakawa).

In reflecting about her father and her visit with him to his small Italian village some years ago, Linda draws comparisons with Nino Ricci's Lives of the Saints (Penguin/Random House), in which the young male protagonist, Vittorio, must work out how he feels about his mother who flies in the face of the strict moral codes of the Italian town. With reference to other Italian-Canadian writers -- Terri Favro, Connie Guzzo-McParland, Pier Giorgio Di Cicco -- and also the audio book read by Marco Timpano (with great thanks to Penguin/Random House for permissions), the television version of Ricci's novel and Frances Mayes, Under the Tuscan Sun, and Madelena, the episode addresses the patriarchal conditions for women in Italy, but also what it means to see our parents as more than just parents, but as people with their own lives, dreams, and regrets. In the Takeaway section -- and perhaps a counterpoint to the episode's discussion -- Linda looks at and recommends Dior's Petit Dictionnaire de La Mode, which she picked up at the recent Dior Exhibit at the McCord Museum in Montreal, Quebec.

In this episode, Heather O'Neill's short story, "Messages in Bottles" (from Daydreams of Angels, published by HarperCollins in 2014) becomes the focal point of a discussion about why distance does not necessarily impede intimacy--sometimes, in fact, it helps us to be or feel more closely connected--and in that process, literature may play an important part. In her takeaway, Linda chats about her newest "discovery," Souvankham Thammavongsa's Found (Pedlar Press 2007). Check out this video with Thammavongsa speaking about and reading from Found.

Linda sits in the backyard of Lori Schubert, the Executive Director of the Quebec Writers' Federation, to chat with her about the organization's history, her role in it, and the programs it offers to its members across the province of Quebec, including its database of Quebec writers and its awards. And the two just enjoy a beautiful day outside, at the end of a long period of pandemic restrictions.

In this episode, Linda remembers how she met actor and writer Lorena Gale in Vancouver, British Columbia - and how acts of remembering define who you are, as Gale's play, Je Me Souviens (Talon Press), renders clear; she connects the history and significance of license plates in Quebec to Gale's journey of self-discovery to show how Gale navigates carefully the challenges of identity in the province -- both when Gale lived there and then in retrospect. In the take-away section, Linda considers the collection, Chronicling the Days: Dispatches from a Pandemic, a project conceived by the Quebec Writers' Federation and produced in conjunction with Guernica Press, as an early provincial-based response to the pandemic.

In this episode, Linda chats with her co-producer (yes, that's right - her co-producer) and long-standing friend, Marco Timpano, about his career as a podcaster, and his recent publication, 25 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started My Podcast. He reads from the book and, drawing upon his own experiences as a podcaster, explains some of the things he really wished he did know.

In this episode, Linda begins with the sound of her father's old espresso machine, to explain how she sees -- or hears -- sound working in Magnetic Equator (published by McClelland & Stewart) by international poet, novelist, and sound performer Kaie Kellough. You can hear a sample of his sound poetry here. This episode includes a small excerpt read by Kellough himself (with permission by Kellough).

Linda chats with author, Michael Nest, about Cold Case North, a finalist for the Crime Writers of Canada for its 2021 Best True Crime Award. We chat about the challenges involved in researching the disappearance of Jim Brady (Metis) and Absolom Halkett (Cree), the fundamental nature of collaboration in this kind of endeavour, and what it might look like this in this kind of moment and context.

Bonus Episode: Linda chats with Dr. Deanna Reder about the history related to James Brady (Métis) and Abby Halkett, the community that experienced this traumatic loss, and the making of this book.

Linda discusses the narrative of Cold Case North (published by the University of Regina Press) -- an investigation that was poorly conducted and re-opened by ... a Cree-Métis scholar, Dr. Deanna Reder, Eric Bell, and Michael Nest. Shortlisted by the Crime Writers of Canada for the 2021 Best True Crime Award, Cold Case North is a powerful, moving account of how and why the Métis leader James Brady and Cree Band Councillor Absolom Halkett disappeared and their case remains unresolved. Dr. Deanna Reder reads from sections of the book as part of the episode.

Linda considers the two central meanings of apocalypse in view of recent global events, environmental crises, and political upheavals. She uses these two meanings to approach Saleema Nawaz's Songs for the End of the World (published by McClelland & Stewart). In the "Takeaway" section of the podcast, she continues to pursue the idea of revelation in relation to Klara DuPlessis's Hell Light Flesh.

We are so grateful for the really enthusiastic response we have had to the podcast! We're coming right back - but, in response to some of our listeners's requests, we have provided you with a list of some of the writers (and a little time to read their books!) that Linda will be discussing in future episodes.