Can't Lit

Three amazing guests in one super episode! Finalists Kai Cheng Thom and Ali Blythe along with event MC Leah Horlick join Dina and Jen the day after the Dayne Ogilvie Prize for LGBTQ Emerging Writers ceremony. We talk poetry (a lot, in so many ways), exclusion in canlit, the problem with "universal" stories, and so much more. This episodes has laughs, lots of emotions and ends in a real lovefest. Though not in the room with us third finalist Eva Crocker makes an appearance through the magic of technology!

In this episode your hosts look back at the decade and talk about books they loved, trends they observed and there's some of what certain people would call singing. Thanks for another year of  listening to our wee pod. Happy Holidays from Dina, Jen & Rosie! xo

Hi, hi, hi! What a delightful episode we have with the supremely talented funny person, podcaster (stars, they're just like us), writer and wonderful person, Alicia Tobin! We discuss her new book, So You're a Little Sad, So What (out with Friend of the Pod Arsenal Pulp Press), comedy, writing the hard essays, DOGS, animals, and we make a lot of jokes along the way. Rosie kisses Alicia and it makes everyone feel happy. Gosh, thanks for listening.

We talk to one delight about a book she wrote about another delight! Wonderful person and brilliant writer Andrea Warner is on this episode. We talk about her new book, Buffy Sainte-Marie: The Authorized Biography, why Buffy Sainte-Marie is totally amazing, research and writing, make-up and dog anatomy. Listen now for this truly delicious episode.

Guess what? We've got Lynn Coady! We talk about her new novel, Watching You Without Me, writing bad men characters, writing  relationships between mothers and daughters, novel-writing vs. short-story writing, how it feels to go to a literary gala, and we play a little game of Would You Rather? Fall has settled over the land and there are literary festivals everywhere and we are coming to you 100% not live from a conference room on Granville Island during the Vancouver Writers' Fest. 

Dreams come true when DDB & DZ get to talk to the wonderful poet, David McGimpsey. Dreams come even more true when talk turns to shopping malls (!!) his new book, Asbestos Heights (!!!), Tropical Bill Murray, a baby Dina hates on Facebook, Beyoncé (of course), and watching Jennifer Aniston movies for Poetry Month. We also play two new games in honour of Fuller House, the Full House sequel: What Would Kimmy Gibbler Do? and Stefan Urquelle or Steve Urkel? We even talk about poetry and classism, and Daniel coins the term, "dick carousel."

Why hello there! In this episode we get to talk to amazing writer and lovely person, Lindsay Wong. We discuss her memoir, The Woo-Woo, manuscript rejection, writing about mental illness, family, eyelash extensions, and listening to music (and not listening to music). We cover a lot of ground, and give some good tips too. Both the writing kind and the make up kind. 

Double your poetry pleasure with our guests Kayla Czaga and Raoul Fernandes. We talk with them about their new books of poetry, ageism, having kids and not having kids and accidental marriage proposals. We also invent a Can('t) Lit cocktail, Dina gets us to play Fuck, Marry, Kill: Poetry Edition and Daniel admits to dating a pizza.

Poetry Month is over, but at Can't Lit we love to talk to poets all year long. In this episode we talk to the tremendous Laura Matwichuk about her debut poetry collection, Near Miss (Nightwood Editions), natural disasters, dreams, Armageddon (yes, the movie) and screen time. Dina rages about the most popular jeans right now, Jen is emotional about Mother's Day, and Rosie's friend Lola the Cat is introduced. What an episode!

Why hello there. Dina and Jen are back to talk about being in public, from readings, to being online. This shortie of an episode covers a little of what writers sometimes have to do a lot. Also, Rosie is adorable.

Things get spicy in this episode because Dina and Daniel get to talk to poet, photographer and general delight Tenille Campbell! We talk about that writing life, surprise yoga, and culture, sex, desire in her wonderful debut poetry collection #IndianLovePoems. Come for the hook up stories, stay for the fun cackling throughout. Also, Daniel deals with reviews of his new book, Dina survived a year of teaching and Tenille was in a commercial. 

Writers! We feel bad about ourselves. About our work, about the way we think others think about us, about the way we present ourselves out in the world. In this episode Dina and Jen get into self-loathing, and how it affects writing and life. Rosie drags a bone around. It is quiet and riveting.

Recorded in September but here now for your ears is an episode with lovely writer Gurjinder Basran! Jen and I talk to her about her new novel, Someone You Love is Gone, which features ghosts and sadness and some laughs too. We also discuss representation in literature, rap and hip hop, and a Tinder date from the news. There's even some Halloween cackling. Happy listening!

Don't lament summer ending because we have the two most lovely guests: Paul Vermeersch and Bianca Spence! While visiting Vancouver from Toronto they made time to talk to Jen and me about karaoke, Degrassi, diversity panels, friendliness in literary community and fries. We also bring back Literary Would You Rather?

Get excited for this bonus episode with super delight and excellent writer, Sharon Bala. We talk about her new novel, Boat People, writing refugees and immigrants, displacement, unlikeable characters, female relationships and gross politicians. And of course, we talk a little bit about fashion. 

They're just jealous! And here to talk about. In this episode Dina and Jen talk about professional literary jealousy and what it looks like for them, how they talk about it and how they deal. 

Marita Dachsel, Charlotte Gill, Jennica Harper, Nancy Lee and Laisha Rosnau are extraordinary writers who've also been friends for twenty years! Jen and Din are lucky to talk to them about their super-friendship origin story, how they help each other with their writing, celebrating successes, being there for each other (cutting umbilical cords!), teaching, pay inequality and so much more. 

Happy 2020! Happy New Decade! Happy Year of the Metal Rat! And we're back with multi-talented, hilarious, stylish and wonderful guest, Cynara Geissler. We discuss personal style as creative practice, author care, literary publicity and media, celebrity clothing lines and so much more. Also, there's a lot of singing.

Way back in November Jen and Dina interviewed part of the amazing team behind Rahila's Ghost Press, a new chapbook press that will knock your stockings off. And we sure did have a fun time, talked about a lot of poetry and yes, there were emotions. Now the episode is here for your listening pleasure, with publisher Mallory Tater, managing editor Curtis LeBlanc, editors Adèle Barclay and Shaun Robinson, and two of the first poets publisher by the press, Megan Fennya Jones (Normal Women) and Jake Byrne (The Tide). Buy all the RG chapbooks at rahilasghostpress.com.

Hello friends! This month we have another truly exciting guest: the amazingly talented and charming, Alicia Elliott. We talk about writing non-fiction (and other genres), privilege, how we have to interrogate to be good and responsible writers, lipstick, musicals and so much more. We also play a new game: 'New Lipstick or New Poetry.' And there is a lot of singing.