In this episode, Linda chats with Kevin Chong about his novel The Double Life of Benson Yu ( Simon & Schuster ) shortlisted for the 2023 Giller Prize . It's a "meta" novel, in some ways - a concept that Linda explains in this episode - but it also had Linda thinking about the social media platform, Meta (formerly, Facebook). Whatever insights you might glean from this association and from this interview, what is clear is the real and urgent need to re-examine various forms of masculinity. Th...
Jun 15, 2025•45 min•Season 6Ep. 85
What are flying monkeys ?, Linda wonders - until her friend illuminates their place in relation to narcissists. Narcissism is key to understanding the Widow and Abe Strapp, two deliciously terrible main characters in Michael Crummey's novel, The Adversary (Knopf) -- which just won the D ublin Literary Award for 2025 ; this psychology is also key to understanding why certain subplot characters choose to orbit around them. Since the novel may be read as a kind of running commentary on the present ...
Jun 01, 2025•49 min•Season 6Ep. 84
It's Mother's Day - and, while Linda considers how the mother is represented in several books (specifically Rachel Deustch (6:30), Boum (5:50; 6:55), and Mary Thaler (5:47), in their respective works, The Mother , Jellyfish , and Ulfhildr ), she turns her attention to the figure of the stepmother, inspired in part by her conversation with the authors of La Belle-M è re/The Stepmother (L'Hexagone ) by Rachel McCrum and Amélie Prévost (8:10) while she was at the Imagination Literary Festival (held...
May 12, 2025•35 min•Season 6Ep. 83
In this episode, Linda speaks with the award-winning CBC journalist of As it Happens , Carol Off, about her new (and fifth!) book, At a Loss for Words: Conversation in an Age of Rage (Listeners, keep your eye out: A new edition of Off's book will be available in the fall!). Published in 2024, Off wrote the book as a "cautionary tale," as she observes in this interview - and, since then, some important political moments have evolved across the American and Canadian border. The book examines how k...
May 06, 2025•42 min•Season 6Ep. 82
In this episode, Linda revisits and revisions the three “Rs” – reading, writing, and arithmetic – to reformulate a new triad. Why? Because, in her interview with Michaela Di Cesare about her play Successions , Linda learns more about Anthony, one of the main characters, and his disorder, known as prosopagnosia. Di Cesare explains that she thought of this disorder as a means of representing how patriarchal culture is often blind to women and to their needs. Anthony is literally unable to recogniz...
Apr 15, 2025•49 min•Season 6Ep. 81
As a result of Zilla Jones’ The World So Wide, slated for publication with Cormorant Books on April 26, 2025, Linda reflects on opera (specifically Verdi’s La Forza Del Destino ) – historically an elitist art form, but one that Felicity Alexander, the protagonist of Jones’ novel, in part challenges and overcomes through the very successes of her career. The trajectory of that career takes a darker turn when she finds herself in Grenada during the 1983 American invasion of that country – not an u...
Apr 01, 2025•42 min•Season 6Ep. 80
In this first episode of Season 6 of Getting Lit With Linda , the host – Linda Morra – begins with a few important announcements: GLWL is now being supported by the Canada Council for the Arts ! With that support, we have a "special" season that we're calling GETTING LIT GOES GLOBAL. It means we are emphasizing books or topics that take on international proportions or have international repercussions. Getting Lit With Linda will now also feature an annual prize – more of that in future episodes....
Mar 15, 2025•49 min•Season 6Ep. 79
Happy International Women's Day - this is our Teaser for Season 6, in which a special guest joins Linda Morra to share our International Women's Day wishes with you, the listeners of Getting Lit With Linda! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 08, 2025•2 min
n this 78th episode and the final one of season 5, Linda offers the “Nine Days of Christmas” with nine different book recommendations for the holidays. Who makes the cut? Well, we could say you need to listen to find out, but we want you to find the books easily, so here they are with their links: Alice Zorn’s Colours in her Hands (Freehand Books), Téa Mutonji’s Shut Up You’re Pretty (VS Books, Arsenal), Katherena Vermette’s Real Ones (Hamish Hamilton), Ian Williams', What I Mean to Say (Anansi)...
Dec 16, 2024•33 min•Season 5Ep. 78
Linda writes an open letter to Ivan Coyote, in response to their book, Care Of: Letters, Connections, and Cures (published by McClelland & Stewart during the pandemic). This important volume of letters is extraordinary and, while we're no longer in the throes of a pandemic, it remains as relevant as ever. With references to WB Yeat's poem "The Second Coming" and an article by Anna Russell that appeared in The New Yorker , this episode highlights the vital contribution this book makes - and i...
Dec 01, 2024•15 min•Season 5Ep. 77
In this episode, Linda converses with Jenny Haysom (2.48) about her novel Keep (published by Anansi). Featuring three main characters, the narrative is driven by the conflict that emerges when Harriet, an elderly poet, is diagnosed with the onset of dementia and must face selling her house -- and the two home stagers, Eleanor and Jacob, tasked with emptying it of its contents. Both Eleanor and Jacob are drawn into Harriet's world and the questions around what we keep, what we throw away, and wha...
Nov 17, 2024•38 min•Season 5Ep. 76
A bilingual episode/un épisode bilingue. Linda opens with her delight about having won the Women in Podcasting Awards in Education - she effusively thanks her listeners! e What kinds of books haunt us and why? In this episode, Linda considers Eden Robinson's Monkey Beach and Jessica Johns' Bad Cree , but ultimately picks a book that thoroughly haunted her - Michel Jean's Qimmik (published by Libre Expression, not yet translated into English ). Author of Kukum (House of Anansi) and editor of Amun...
Nov 02, 2024•24 min•Season 5Ep. 75
Linda opens with a word of thanks to her listeners who voted--because she is now a Finalist for the Women in Podcasting Awards . This episode features an interview, which was live at Word on the Street in Toronto, with the writer of Mi'kmaq and settler descent, who published a novel, The Berry Pickers and, most recently, her short story collection, Waiting for the Long Night Moon (both published by published by Random House ). It is a joyful and animated conversation, with an audience that was w...
Oct 17, 2024•34 min•Season 5Ep. 74
Linda speaks with Corinna Chong about her novel, Bad Land , published by Arsenal Pulp Press and long-listed for the Giller Prize. Chong, originally from Calgary, lives in Kelowna, B.C. where she teaches English and fine arts at Okanagan College. She published her first novel, Belinda's Rings , in 2013. In her opening remarks, Linda explains why she sees the protagonist and main narrator, Regina, as … well, kind of “brat.” She's a fascinating, messy, and lovable character who has buried her life-...
Sep 16, 2024•33 min•Season 5Ep. 73
Linda considers the persistence of present-day misogyny, then speaks with Daniela Vlaskalic about her co-written play, The Drowning Girls , which features the women who were victims of a turn-of-the-century serial killer. It was such a famous case, even Agatha Christie mentioned it in one of her novels. To set the stage - pun intended - for this play, Linda outlines the legal and historical situation for women in Canada - obtaining the right to vote was a bare minimum ., but even getting bank ac...
Sep 01, 2024•41 min•Season 5Ep. 72
Linda has been mulling over what an education is, what purposes it serves. She was so curious about it that she begin to reflect on the etymology of the word. The root of “educate” comes from educe , from the Latin, meaning "to lead forth" or "lead out of," which then led her to think, leading out of … what? From where and to where ? And who is doing the leading? For whom ? And why ? Weaving in her personal conversations and experiences alongside different cultural texts – from Valley of the Bir...
Jun 20, 2024•25 min•Season 6Ep. 71
Indigenous mothers, Indigenous children, Indigenous parents – Willie Poll sees you – and she wants you to know that you’re enough . In this episode of Getting Lit With Linda , Willie Poll (Metis Nation of Ontario) discusses with Linda why she wrote this children’s book, titled My Little Ogichidaa , and the source of inspiration for its creation – in large part, t he Moose Hide Campaign (2:00). The Moose Hide Campaign, which began as a BC-born Indigenous-led grassroots movement to engage men and ...
Jun 02, 2024•29 min•Season 5Ep. 70
Linda begins this episode with a brief acknowledgement of the passing of Nobel Prize winner for the short story, Alice Munro – who died a couple of days before this episode was aired. It's a pertinent moment to take pause when the subject of this episode is, in part, about anniversaries - which often include remembering when a beloved person dies or, as was the case only a few days ago, honouring a special person - like mothers on Mothers' Day. Who we choose to so honour and how we do so says a ...
May 16, 2024•37 min•Season 5Ep. 69
In this -- the second live episode of Getting Lit With Linda held at the Blue Metropolis Literary Festival and co-sponsored by the Quebec Writers' Federation -- Linda speaks with Andrew Stobo Sniderman and Douglas Sanderson (Amo Binashi, Beaver Clan, of the Opaskwayak Cree Nation) about their book, Valley of the Birdtail: An Indian Reserve, A White Town, and the Road to Reconciliation . The book has been receiving all manner of recognition. Here are some examples of the awards it has garnered: W...
May 01, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Season 5Ep. 68
What does the work of painter Renoir and his paintings of full-bodied women (2.15; 12.34), and tanning beds (2:30) have to do with the Quebecois author Marie Claire Blais (3:15) and La Belle Bette/Mad Shadows (3:20)? Have a listen to today’s episode to find out … In this episode, Linda looks at Blais’s Mad Shadows and its historical importance to Quebec. Among other subjects, she also references: Value Village , Holt Renfrew 1:3; 11:58 ) Sheila Fischman (3:45) New Yorker (4:47; 16:11) Margaret A...
Apr 15, 2024•25 min•Season 5Ep. 67
In this episode, Linda and Bryn Turnbull discuss her new historical novel, The Paris Deception - and what it means to represent women's lives historically when there has been inadequate records or representation for them. Linda considers the Indigo Girls and their song about Virginia Woolf - and listening attentively to the voices of women through time. Turnbull alludes to The Monuments Men (both the movie and the book ) and her novel as an equivalent for women to such a story. Among other topic...
Apr 01, 2024•36 min•Season 4Ep. 66
Michael V. Smith is a deeply loving, insightful poet and performer – who uses intimacy and humour as tools to explore pain. In this interview, Linda chats with him about power dynamics and bullying, as they address his poetry collection, Queers Like Me (published by Book*hug in 2023 ) Here are some of the subjects we covered: on the nature of creative writing and genre (6.15) poetic technique, poetic devices, and poetic voice (verbatim poems: 6.45, 8.00, 42.43) Facebook poem and writing about hi...
Mar 16, 2024•48 min•Season 5Ep. 65
Eloise Marseille is the first guest for Season 5 - yes, season 5! - and, this time, it's English AND French (starting at the 31.55 mark for the French interview). Marseille is a wonderful Quebecoise graphic novelist, whose candid and humorous book, Naked: The Confessions of a Normal Woman / Confessions d'une Femme Normale examines sexuality and self-love--especially as it bears on women, cis- and trans-. Linda begins with a reference to the feminist theory courses she teaches and some of the the...
Mar 02, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Season 5Ep. 64
Linda wishes her listeners a very happy holiday - and offers a hint about what to expect for at least the first episode of Season 5! Have a restful, joyful period. Getting Lit With Linda returns on March 1, 2024. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Dec 23, 2023•2 min•Season 4Ep. 63
In this episode, Linda chats with Dr. Katherine McLeod about her role in the SpokenWeb Podcast , particularly Short Cuts . The conversation covers so much ground in such a short period! We discuss the following: The Short Cuts podcast (6.20, 9:21, 14.05, 18:47) Women poets, such as Gwendolyn MacEwan , Phyllis Webb (15:27), Muriel Rukeyser, Maxine Gadd, Margaret Atwood (8.22; 8.54; 10:03), Daphne Marlatt (18:55), Dionne Brand (11:23), and Brand with Lee Maracle (a member of the Stó:lō Nation; 12....
Dec 15, 2023•25 min•Season 4Ep. 62
Linda is thrilled to have been able to conduct this interview with one of the foremost feminist scholars in Canada right now—Erin Wunker. They speak about her book Notes from a Feminist Killjoy , published by book*hug , and the important work it undertakes in relation to the labour of being a “feminist killjoy.” Don’t know what a feminist killjoy is ? Give this interview a listen to find out more. Here are only some of the key points of the discussion: · About Erin Wunker (2.46) · About the book...
Nov 29, 2023•42 min•Season 4Ep. 61
In this episode -- recorded live in Tiohtià:ke in the DeSeve Cinema at Concordia University -- Linda interviews award-winning authors, Catherine Hernandez and Eva Crocker. Linda begins by thanking celebrated Montreal-based author, Christopher DiRaddo , who is the director of the Violet Hour and who opens the event with a territorial acknowledgement and with an introduction to the authors. The Violet Hour and the Association of English-Language Publishers of Quebec (AELAQ) co-sponsored the event,...
Nov 17, 2023•1 hr 15 min•Season 4Ep. 60
In this episode, Linda reflects on Dionne Brand's magnificent A Map to the Door of No Return: Notes to Belonging , reprinted by Vintage (a division of Random House) in 2023 - but initially published over twenty years ago. That's the staying power of this particular volume - the "Door of No Return" is a particularly harrowing metaphor and, as Linda notes, there are many expressions that use "doors" in contemporary usage. Just not like this book does! A prolific and accomplished writer and profess...
Oct 15, 2023•18 min•Season 4Ep. 59
Linda speaks with Métis playwright, actor, and director, Keith Barker about his play, This is How We Got Here (Playwrights Canada Press) It is a moving interview, as Barker explains the origins and shape of this play. Their discussions touch on the following subjects (among others!): current and past productions of the play (3.00; 28.15; 34.10, 36.00) loss and trauma (1.14, 1.50, 4.30, 6.10, 12.56, 19.20, 33.58) structure of This is How We Got Here (1.20, 22.28, 23.25) representations of grief (...
Oct 01, 2023•42 min•Season 4Ep. 58
In this episode, Linda begins by speaking about the kinds of assumptions made about her because of her Italian-Canadian immigrant background - and then expands that consideration to show how making such assumptions can actually be harmful. Case in point? The Christie-Pitts riot on August 16, 1933. There have been two graphic novels written about this riot: one simply titled Christie Pitts and the other titled The Good Fight. A second case in point is the Japanese-Canadian internment camps during...
Sep 18, 2023•34 min•Season 4Ep. 57
