Getting Lit with Linda - The Canadian Literature Podcast

In this episode, Linda interviews Lee Lai about Cannon, the graphic novel for which Lai was shortlisted for the Carol Shields Prize (the only author on the shortlist with a Canadian connection).The friendship between the protagonist of the same name (Cannon) and Trish puts the very definition of their relationship to the test, complicated in part because Cannon is trying to be responsible to everyone around her—and the net result is that Cannon fails to advocate for herself.Lai refers to Love in a F** Up World by the activist and educator Dean Spade, which Linda picked up after the interview. She was fascinated by Spade's question: How do we build lasting and effective resistance movements, if we are not even examining the ethics of foundational relationships like friendship? That’s the question that Lee Lai takes up. Lai isn’t dismissive or casual about friendship—it isn’t “just friendship” in that sense, but rather friendship that is fair, ethical, democratic.Other points of discussion- loving conflict (as Lee Lai says, “as the only thing that genuinely changes unsustainably bad dynamics”)- types of conflict: inner, between people, between art production and the way we see the world- Sarah Schulman, Conflict is Not Abuse (see also Ties that Bind and Let the Record Show)- chosen families and queer friendships- betrayal in friendship and unchecked expectations- Tuck Woodstock (podcaster) and the Gender Reveal podcast- Randa Abdel-Fattah's interview for the podcast, Between the Covers (David Naimon; see also Mariam Kaba's interview for this podcast)- Sheila Watson’s The Double Hook- R.F. Kuang, Yellowface- James McEvoy, Love and Friendship in the Western Tradition : From Plato to Postmodernity (2023)Producer: Linda Morra; Associate Producer; Maia Harris; Music by Raphael Krux Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to Season 7 of Getting Lit with Linda, where we learn to love literature one book at a time!In this episode, Linda interviews the Métis writer, Brittany Penner about her memoir, Children Like Us (Random House Canada). It's elegantly written and carefully crafted, and, in spite of the book's length, Linda couldn't put it down. Linda and Brittany discuss her childhood, the Sixties Scoop (14:32), Brittany's story around being adopted (19:10), and the medical system, in Saskatchewan and Quebec, and across Canada.Here are some other highlights of their discussion:Stanford Marshellow Experiment (23:32)Joyce Echaquan and the Joyce Principle (24:52)Healing and empowerment (27:50)Women’s reproductive health (31:23)Photos in the memoir (33)The memoir’s sequel (36:48)Please note the NEW!! feature of the podcast: The "Takeway" (37:52), in which all guest writers, including Brittany, will be offering one piece of advice to aspiring writers.Producer/Host/Writer: Linda Morra; Associate Producer: Maia Harris; Music: Raphael Crux. We are grateful to the Canada Council for their support for this second year of production. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Announcing our seventh season! We will be somewhat delayed this year, with a start date in the late spring, but we haven't forgotten about you, our dear listeners or authors - we will begin very soon! For now, some of our future guests - specialists of the life and literature of author, Jane Rule - Marilyn Schuster (the godmother of Jane Rule Studies!), Cate Sandilands, and Amber Dean - and the team at Getting Lit With Linda would like to share their best wishes for International Women's Day!We acknowledge the Canada Council for the Arts for their support. Producer & Host: Linda Morra; Associate Producer: Maia Harris; Music: Raphael Krux. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why should we pay attention to scars or scar tissue? After the original injury heals and its pain recedes, should we ignore what’s left behind? In this episode, Linda mulls over these questions while considering Madeleine Thien's "Alchemy," from her collection, Simple Recipes. Don't know Thien's work? Check out her award-winning novel, Do Not Say We Have Nothing (which Linda discussed in Season 1, Episode 3) and her most recent novel, The Book of Records. She also offers her best wishes for the new year, in this, the last episode of Season 6 (2025).Writer/host/producer: Linda Morra; Associate Producer: Maia Harris; Music: Raphael Krux (The Madness of Linda). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our warmest wishes for the season – and a reminder that this is the last interview for the podcast (there may be one smaller episode at the year’s end, but not an interview), before we open up voting for this year’s GLWL awards: the author featured in your favourite episode will receive a cash prize and medal to honour their involvement.In this episode, Linda reflects on how boxes are at times about imposed limitations. "Don’t box me in," you might argue – or let’s try to think outside the box (because it’s time for a change!). And it is this -- thinking and living outside the lines (and boxes) -- that Susan Swan’s wonderful new memoir, Big Girls Don’t Cry: A Memoir About Taking Up Space (HarperCollijns), compels us to do, to locate our sense of dignity and agency, to find our sense of self-worth.Swan is the author of several novels including The Biggest Modern Woman in the World (1983), The Last of The Golden Girls (1989), What Casanova Told Me (2004), and The Wives of Bath (1993), which was made into the film Lost and Delirious (3:45). In this episode, we discuss how taking up space can be positive for women (and men too!), a means to shift beyond the conventions that have hemmed her in (and us) and to find our way out of the boxes that have contained us.Other points of discussion:the genre of the memoirMargaret Atwood and official autobiographySoren KierkegaardExecutive Producer: Linda Morra; Associate Producer: Maia Harris; Music by Raphael Krux ("The Madness of Linda") and Kevin MacLeod ("Natural Vibes"); Sound producer: Jason C. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.