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.