When the book ends, the conversation begins. Mattea Roach speaks with writers who have something to say about their work, the world and our place in it. You’ll always walk away with big questions to ponder and new books to read.
When the book ends, the conversation begins. Mattea Roach speaks with writers who have something to say about their work, the world and our place in it. You’ll always walk away with big questions to ponder and new books to read.
Commotion is where you go for thoughtful and vibrant conversations about all things pop culture. Host Elamin Abdelmahmoud calls on journalists, critics, creators and friends to talk through the biggest arts & entertainment stories of the day, in 30 minutes or less.
In this episode, Elamin is joined by authors Jael Richardson and David A. Robertson, and bookseller and publisher Martha Sharpe to chat about updating the Can Lit canon. What is considered to be a Canadian literary classic? Has that changed? Has it remained the same? More episodes of Commotion are available here: https://link.mgln.ai/cwea-bookends
This week on Bookends, we revisit Eleanor Wachtel’s conversation with Bernardine Evaristo.
Bernardine is the recipient of the Outstanding Contribution award by the Women’s Prize for Fiction. It’s a special, one-time award to celebrate achievement over the course of a career. “Outstanding” is the perfect word to describe Bernardine’s accomplishments — in addition to several acclaimed books, Bernardine has dedicated the past 40 years to uplifting underrepresented writers and promoting inclusivity in literature. Eleanor and Bernardine spoke on Writers & Company in 2020 about Bernardine’s Booker award-winning novel, Girl, Woman, Other, and how her family background shaped her journey as a writer.
Whether it’s battling your girlfriend’s “seven evil exes," reinterpreting childhood memories or celebrating the beauty of becoming a parent, comics and graphic novels transport readers to different worlds … and help us better understand the one we live in. In the first season of Bookends, Mattea Roach spoke with some of today’s leading cartoonists about their work and the inspiration they draw from life. In this special summer edition of the show, we’re revisiting Mattea's conversations with Adrian Tomine, Alison Bechdel, Bryan Lee O'Malley, Sarah Leavitt and Chris Ware.
Hear the full conversations here:
Five days a week acclaimed interviewer Tom Power sits down with the artists, writers, actors and musicians who define pop culture.
In this episode, Tom chats with the cartoonist and writer Gabrielle Drolet. A few years ago, Gabrielle developed a condition that made her unable to use her hands. It kept getting worse over time, and as Gabrielle searched for a diagnosis, she also had to find new ways to make art. Her new memoir “Look Ma, No Hands” is the story of an artist coming to terms with disability, adapting to the unexpected, and ultimately learning to express herself again. Gabrielle joins Tom to talk about those experiences that informed her memoir.
More episodes of Q with Tom Power are available here: https://link.mgln.ai/qwtp
To wrap up our first season, Bookends is bringing you to the Festival of Literary Diversity in Brampton. Tanya Talaga, Morgan Campell and Amal Elsana Alh'jooj may be memoir writers from different walks of life — but a common thread in their work is how they continually use their voices to negotiate challenging conversations. They recently joined Mattea Roach on stage for a live panel, where they spoke about the value of difficult conversations … and how telling personal stories creates empathy at large.
Hear the rest of our interview with Tanya Talaga here:
For Montreal writer Chris Bergeron, the power of transgender storytelling is revolutionary. Her novel Valid is about a 70-year-old trans woman who is forced back into the closet to survive in a dystopian Montreal. Valid, translated from French by Natalia Hero, was chosen for this year’s One eRead Canada campaign. Chris sat down with Mattea Roach at a live virtual event in April. They spoke about the relationship between transness and technology, the meaning of “dystopian autofiction” and how the city of Montreal is always in transition.
If you enjoyed this conversation, check out these episodes:
For Chyana Marie Sage, being “soft as bones” means accepting that humans are both strong and fragile — and have immense capacity for healing. Her new memoir, Soft As Bones, is her quest to better understand the childhood trauma that scarred her family. It's also a tapestry of poetry, history, Cree language, traditional ceremony and folklore — and delves into her experiences and those of her family with compassion and strength. Chyana joins Mattea Roach to share the catharsis she felt from writing about painful memories and the care she took to portray everyone with empathy.
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Before becoming a writer, Kyle Edwards had dreams of playing hockey … and as an Indigenous player, he grapples with complex feelings about the game and its place in Canadian culture. He explores this in his debut novel, Small Ceremonies. The story follows the Tigers, a hockey team made up of Indigenous teens from Winnipeg. The teens are coming of age in the rink — and the dynamics on the ice often mirror the tensions off of it. Kyle tells Mattea Roach about how sports reflect society, how hockey serves as its own kind of ceremony and why Winnipeg is so special to him.
If you enjoyed this conversation, check out these episodes:
Nearly 20 years after her breakout memoir, Fun Home, cartoonist Alison Bechdel is still unearthing new truths about her life in that time. The memoir and its Broadway adaptation changed Alison’s life and brought a degree of success she was unaccustomed to. She explores these themes in her latest work, a comic novel called Spent. It’s about a cartoonist's complicated relationship with money and capitalism, and the struggle to stay true to her values. Alison tells Mattea about creating a fictionalized version of herself ... and shares surprising revelations about her parents, which have given her new insight into her own life story.
If you enjoyed this conversation, check out these episodes:
Through his books and public speaking, David A. Robertson has dedicated his career to sharing stories about Indigenous people. His latest book, 52 Ways to Reconcile, is a guide for all of us to take action when it comes to reconciliation — and shows how small acts can have a big impact. Like all of David's work, the book tackles hard truths with a gentle touch and a profound sense of hope. David joins Mattea Roach to talk about educating children on Indigenous histories, how his father influenced his life and work and why "reconciliation" is a journey ... not a destination.
If you enjoyed this conversation, check out these episodes:
The 1983 revolution in Grenada was a major moment of the Cold War era ... and writer Zilla Jones grew up hearing stories about its connection to her own family. She transports readers back to that time in her debut novel, The World So Wide. It follows a Canadian opera singer named Felicity who is caught up in the military coup and placed under house arrest. What unfolds next is a saga that spans decades and reflects on race, love, belonging and revolution. Zilla joins Mattea Roach to talk about why opera is at the centre of the story, her work as a lawyer and the power of art as protest.
If you enjoyed this conversation, check out these episodes:
There’s no easy answer to that question — and Vijay Khurana’s debut novel, The Passenger Seat, takes a closer look at how complicated it really is. Drawing on aspects of a real string of murders that took place in British Columbia in 2019, the story follows two high school boys as they set off on a road trip that turns violent. It examines male friendships and masculinity with nuance and complexity, asking difficult questions about what we can learn from men who commit violence … and what separates a killer from the rest of us.
If you enjoyed this conversation, check out these episodes:
Growing up in the midst of the HIV/AIDS epidemic left Pete Crighton with a huge fear of sex … and he threw himself into music as a way to cope with his anxieties. Decades later, he realized that he needed to face his fears and live his queer life to the fullest. Pete writes about this journey in his new memoir, The Vinyl Diaries, where he uses his favourite songs, albums and artists as the backdrop to his story. He tells Mattea Roach about his later-in-life exploration of sex and why music was so formative to his queer experience.
If you enjoyed this conversation, check out these episodes:
For years, Casey Johnston thought fitness was all about shrinking down. She was terrified of weightlifting and what it would do to her body. Now, she’s a writer and fitness advocate with a massive following of fellow lifters. Her latest book, A Physical Education, tells the story of how stepping into the weight room changed her life — body, mind and heart. Speaking with Mattea Roach, she shares how training for strength helped her take a closer look at her upbringing, body image and the way she approaches every day.
If you enjoyed this conversation, check out these episodes:
During the pandemic, journalist Carley Fortune turned to romance writing as an outlet … and her debut novel, Every Summer After, was a life-changing success. The nostalgic summer love story was a massive hit, launching her into the world of book lists, devoted fans and screen rights. This spring Carley is back with One Golden Summer, the much-anticipated sequel to her debut novel. Carley joins Mattea to talk about revisiting old characters, her love of the lake and sharing the beauty of rural Ontario with the world.
If you enjoyed this conversation, check out these episodes:
It's not you — the internet really does suck. Novelist, blogger and noted internet commentator Cory Doctorow explains what happened to the internet and why you're tormented by ads, bots, algorithms, AI slop and so many pop-ups. Spoiler alert: it wasn't an accident.
In Understood: Who Broke the Internet, Doctorow gets into the decisions made by powerful people that got us here, and most importantly, how we fix it. More episodes of Who Broke the Internet are available at: https://link.mgln.ai/4HbHJ8
Long before he became a bestselling writer, Ocean Vuong sold rotisserie chickens at Boston Market. In his latest novel, The Emperor of Gladness, he explores the meaning that can be found in the daily grind of a fast food restaurant. The book follows a young addict named Hai as he unexpectedly becomes caretaker to an elderly woman and makes unlikely connections at the fast-food restaurant where he works. Ocean tells Mattea Roach about challenging the American Dream, how being raised by women shaped him and why this novel is his most self indulgent yet.
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As a child, Madeleine Thien loved to sit on her father’s lap as he flipped through the newspaper. Later on, she became fascinated by the newspaper archives at the Vancouver Public Library. Her exploration of history and storytelling continues with novels such as Do Not Say We Have Nothing. Now she's back with her long-awaited new novel, The Book of Records. The book questions the very nature of time, asking how great thinkers like Hannah Arendt lived through catastrophes of the past — and what they can tell us about surviving today.
Want to know why Madeleine loved our interview with Cory Doctorow? Take a listen here:
Iryn Tushabe says she loves Uganda “like a problem.” Her debut novel, Everything Is Fine Here, dives into what exactly those words mean. Aine is coming of age at a boarding school in Uganda … and her world is turned upside down when she learns that her beloved older sister is gay. She’s happy to see her sister in love, but disapproving parents and a hostile culture complicate her ideas of love and faith. Iryn joins Mattea Roach to talk about queer culture in Uganda, her complex relationship with religion and the folklore that inspired the story.
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