In this last episode of the season, Linda considers how empathy is often considered a function of literature and may be ideally represented -- as it is in Catherine Hernandez's Scarborough published by Arsenal Pulp Press. In order to explore how this should work, she considers the Classical orator, Cicero (and Aristotle's Poetics and Horace's Ars Poetica) to show how there is a long tradition of arguing that rhetoric and "good literature" should be able to teach, to delight, and to move us.

In this episode of Getting Lit With Linda, the guests over the course of the 2022 year offer their reading recommendations and their wishes to you for the holidays--including Stephen Collis, Ali Hassan, Terri Favro, Gillian Sze, Marco Timpano, Amanda Barker, Isabella Wang, Amy Spurway, Chantel Lavoie, and Kate Ready. This is our second-last episode of the season (one more before December 31) before we sign off for a break--we will be back at the end of February 2023 for Season Four!


Warmest holiday wishes to all!

In this episode, Linda considers the moment she came across the handwritten memoir of Jane Rule at the University of British Columbia Archives and Rare books. She considers the idea of "discovering" or "divining" in the archive and how that relates to meeting poet and instructor, Sheryda Warrener, who invited her to look at the work of her students during one of Linda's visits to the archive. Two poets from that exhibit--Graeme Kennedy and MacKenzie Sewell--are highlighted in this episode, along with Warrener and her collection, Test Piece (Coach House Books, 2022). The other students who took that class are Bayleigh Marelj, Sinead Tebbutt, Stephanie Okoli, Faria Malik, Ava Kucharski, and Charis Young.

In this episode, Linda begins with a reflection on the “weight of Atlas” in relation to Greek mythology (no, not the band “The Weight of Atlas” that did a cover of one of Taylor Swift’s songs) and how we use it in the present. She ties that reflection to the themes of Amy Spurway’s Crow (Goose Lane Books), winner of the "IPPY Award for Best First Book - Fiction and Margaret and John Savage First Book Award for Fiction" and the subject of this episode. The narrator, also named Crow, has returned back to her home on the East Coast of Canada, where she must learn that adapting to her environment is no longer enough—real transformation is required, which happens when one puts down the weight--our past baggage--that one has been unnecessarily carrying.

What does it really mean to be haunted? Is being haunted always a sinister experience? For this Hallowe'en episode, Linda considers memory and loss, trauma, the nature of haunting, and feeling haunted.

In this episode, Linda reflects on a strike in which she was a participant and the real complexities of its participants and affiliated institutions as a way into Kevin Lambert's marvellous new book, Querelle of Roberval (Biblioasis). Invoking the proportions and form of Greek tragedy, Lambert locates the conflict of this book in a small town in Quebec and shows how its participants all have complex motivations for their actions--including hatred, lust, and revenge.

Is there Bacon in Heaven? Maybe – but there’s certainly bacon on earth, Ali Hassan reminds us, and he enjoys it—and he doesn’t mean it simply literally either. In his new book--a memoir titled Is There Bacon in Heaven? (Simon & Schuster) -- he looks at what is good here on earth and how to locate those moments of goodness—in addition to those of humour and comedy and joy. In this interview, Linda and he talk about the fundamentals of his memoir, the boundaries of comedy, and the power of humour—to restore relationships and connect us meaningfully to others.

Ever wonder what was the "first" book of Canadian literature? How do we even know how to define what that would be? In this episode, Linda chats with eighteenth-century British literature scholar, Dr. Kathryn Ready, about what is sometimes claimed as the first book of Canadian literature--Frances Brooke's The History of Emily Montague. Linda and Dr. Ready may -- or may not -- have tussled over whether this book is British or Canadian, but what they absolutely do is consider the finer aspects of the novel and its global investments.

In this episode, Linda reflects on why we say boundaries are "bad" and how "good relationships" stand in contrast. Using Thomas King (author of The Inconvenient Indian, Medicine River, Green Grass, Running Water) and Natasha Donovan's graphic novel, Borders (published by Little Brown, 6.55), Linda explores "bad boundaries" -- and bad borders -- in relation to the Blackfoot nation. She also refers to Daniel Rück’s The Laws and the Land (4.00) and Benjamin Hoy’s A Line of Blood and Dirt (5.55) to explain her thinking around boundaries and borders.

Linda and Gillian Sze -- the guest for this episode -- chat about her new book, Quiet Night Think (ECW Press) and participate in “quiet thinking” and "looking," especially when there are competing demands on one's time and competing expectations. They discuss other writers, with an emphasis on Li Bai and Emily Dickinson or “Em”.

In this loving and lovely interview that took place in Montreal during the lunar eclipse of May 15-16, 2022, Linda interviews Shannon Webb-Campbell (a member of the Qalipu Mi’kmaq First Nation) about her new book of poetry, Lunar Tides (Book*hug).

After a quick opening teaser with the most extraordinary Dene storyteller and writer -- and the MC of this year's IVAs -- Richard van Camp, I then hold a brief interview with Cree-Metis scholar/professor and co-organizer of the IVAS, Deanna Reder (2.50) who explains the history of the awards and talks about this year's event.

This is the second part of Linda's interview with Terri Favro, who opens this part with her thoughts about gender and the genre of science fiction, making reference to Ursula LeGuin, Doris Lessing, and Margaret Atwood.

In this second part of this episode, Linda chats with Marissa Stapley, whose book Lucky (published by Simon & Schuster and available on ) was just picked up as the first Canadian book on Reese's Book Club picks. Linda has a personal response to this book, which she references as she speaks about Stapley's interview with Shelagh Rogers on The Next Chapter. She also asks Stapley about the kind of research she undertakes to write this kind of book, and the characters about whom she writes.

If you love crime and mystery writing, you will love MOTIVE - the Crime & Mystery Festival slated to take place between June 3 and June 5, 2022 at the Harborfront Centre in Toronto. The line-up of authors either speaking or giving workshops is nothing short of impressive: it features writers from Canada, of the ilk of Thomas King (who will be interviewed by CBC's Shelagh Rogers), but also international writers like Gunnar Staalesen, Thomas Enger,and Ilaria Tuti.

Linda chats with Terri Favro, an Toronto-based, Italian-Canadian author who is poised to release her next novel, The Sisters Sputnik, a sequel to her acclaimed speculative fiction novel, Sputnik's Children.

What do you want to know for? This is the question Linda considers as she writes her biography about Jane Rule - one that Nobel-Prize winning writer, Alice Munro, has considered many times as she weaves autobiography and fiction in her work, specifically in the book under discussion in this episode, The View from Castlerock.

In this episode, the second part of her interview with Stephen Collis, Linda goes in greater depth about Collis's poetry, speaking to him about his most recent collection of poetry, A History of the Theories of Rain (Talon Books).

In this episode, Linda interviews Stephen Collis about his most recent collection of poetry, A History of the Theories of Rain (Talon Books). The next episode is the second part of that interview. For now, just a couple of points of clarification: SFU, the acronym that Collis and Linda use in this interview, stands for Simon Fraser University. Also, they refer to the SLAPP suit by which Collis was confronted. For those of you who may have never heard of this before, a SLAPP suit is a civil lawsuit or counterclaim that alleges defamation but is really initiated for the purposes of intimidating, burdening, punishing, or harassing – and usually it is filed against people or organizations who speak out about issues of public interest.

In today's episode - for International Women's Day - Linda chats with Shani Mootoo about her forthcoming book of poetry, Cane Fire (Book *Hug) and the collaborative nature of its production.