Can't Lit
129 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 2 months ago - ★★★★★ - 3 ratingsA podcast on all things Canadian and Literature and then some.
Homepage Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Episodes
123 - Can't Lit - Triple Treat Book Launch!
May 01, 2024 03:20 - 1 hour - 125 MBWelcome to the chaos of a book launch! Are all book launches like this? I hope so! The Triple Treat Book Launch took place on Sunday April 28th at beloved R&B Brewing. Jen Sookfong Lee was the host and books by Dina Del Bucchia (You're Gonna Love This), Daniel Zomparelli (Jump Scare) and Andrea Warner (The Time of My Life) were launched and feted and were sold by the amazing Iron Dog Books! Listen to Cynara Geissler read from Andrea's book while she recovers from surgery. Dina and Daniel re...
122 - Can't Lit - Tania De Rozario
March 25, 2024 07:00 - 1 hour - 97.4 MBSpring has sprung! And we have Tania De Rozario on the podcast to talk about her new collection of essays, Dinner on Monster Island as well as talking about horror as a conduit for feelings, loving ghosts, demons and phantoms and eating the rich. We also marvel at Rosie the wonderful podcast dog, and we promise to stop referencing (and trashing) Oppenheimer. Listen now! Transcript here.
121 - Can't Lit - Dina & Jen - What's the Point?
February 26, 2024 08:00 - 1 hour - 92.3 MBHello listeners! Dina & Jen are chatting about stuff. Again! This time they're in conversation about the point. What is it? Like, really, what's the point? From writing in general, to specific projects to what they think the point of their own work might be they get down and dirty in the bog of self-doubt and self-loathing, confusion, and some ways they get out of it. So get a tall glass of bog water by your side and listen to this episode! Transcript available here.
120 - Can't Lit - Dina & Jen - Lies Writers Have Told Us
January 29, 2024 08:00 - 58 minutes - 81.3 MBWelcome to 2024! WOW! Can you believe it? Feels like the future. Sort of. I don't even know. DIna and Jen catch up and talk about raccoons and aquatic mammals and dog poop! Then they get into the books and stuff by telling tales and discussing lies they've been told by other writers. The untruths, the blanket statements, the one and only way to write. Listen in to hear our iles! We're sure you've heard your own lies too.
119 - Can't Lit - Dina & Jen - CHAOS
November 27, 2023 08:00 - 1 hour - 90.8 MBYes, it's true. We've been on an unplanned hiatus. But we're back and this episode is (basically) the chaos episode. We have no theme and we're talking about whatever we want! Britney, protests, IBS. This episode has it all! Listen now, if you dare!
118 - Can't Lit - Nathan Whitlock
August 28, 2023 07:00 - 1 hour - 134 MBHello! If you love summer, like Dina, you're probably sad it's coming to a close sooner rather than later. If you hate summer, like Jen, you're probably relieved! But no matter what the season, Can't Lit is here for you. And this month we talk to the one and only, author and podcaster (authors and podcasters, they're just like us because they are us!), Nathan Whitlock! We talk about his new novel, Lump (out now with Dundurn Press), guerrilla book marketing, dark humour and writing, the proc...
117 - Can't Lit - Some of Our Favourite Things
July 31, 2023 07:00 - 56 minutes - 77.6 MBSummer is here and so are we! Dina and Jen get together IN PERSON! To catch up and chat about some of their favourite "books and stuff" things. Rosie is excited. They also talk about their health issues, the Barbie movie, Joyride, and why there should be pockets just for olives!
116 - Can't Lit - Andrew F. Sullivan
May 29, 2023 07:00 - 1 hour - 106 MBHello listeners! We are here again with incredible guest, Andrew F. Sullivan! We love him, (and his dog and his wife) and his new novel, The Marigold. We talk about real estate monsters, writing horror, and so much more! We have a delightful time! And of course, your favourite Dina & Jen segments are here to make you feel and rage! Iggy wants you to listen to this episode.
115 - Can't Lit - Catherine Hernandez
April 24, 2023 16:33 - 1 hour - 97.9 MBHello! This month we finally got to live our dream and talk to the multi-talented and oh so wonderful, Catherine Hernandez! We talk about her new book, The Story of Us, writing with energy, untraditional families and narrators, talking like we're in a 1930s movie, style, and so much more! This episode is so fun we didn't want it to end!!
114 - Can't Lit - Cody Caetano
March 27, 2023 07:00 - 1 hour - 99.1 MBHello! Spring is here, and so is a new episode with the wonderful Cody Caetano! We talk about his book, Half Bads in White Regalia, voice, structure and memoir, and some of the ways readers respond to memoir. We of course talk about Rosie, and Cody's beautiful cats! And there are emotions and rage. Join us, and definitely read Cody's book!!
113 - Can't Lit - Emily Riddle
February 27, 2023 23:51 - 1 hour - 91.6 MBHello! This month we have the incredible writer, artist and library professional Emily Riddle! We talk about her wonderful poetry collection The Big Melt, tattoos, the importance of friendships, her luring people to Edmonton, and a lot of talk of snacks. As usual! There are some big laughs, and Emily saying some very insightful things, of course, Jen being very real in her emotion corner and Dina hates the horrible Spence Diamond ads on the radio.
112 - Can't Lit - The Superfan Talk Show! Live!
January 30, 2023 17:28 - 52 minutes - 71.5 MBHello listeners! And Happy New Year! This month we present a special treat: a recording of Jen's Vancouver launch of Superfan, at The Refinery on January 29th, 2023. Dina hosts, Jen reads, then Dina asks Jen some real hard hitting questions! And there are multiple special guests! Andrea Warner and Shawn Hitchins tell Jen their pop culture nightmares, and she does some pop culture therapy with them. David Ly and Doretta Lau are subjected to Dina's Superfan Quiz Show! And finally, out musical ...
111- Can't Lit - Live with Hannah McGregor!
December 19, 2022 08:00 - 1 hour - 134 MBHappy Holidays! We talk to friend of the podcast, Hannah McGregor about her new book, A Sentimental Education, and so much more! INCLUDING: Jen tells us her perfect lipstick application process Cocktail, weed and mushroom delivery The White Lotus (Jen's favourite characters might surprise you) Dina wants you to watch Enlightened! Hannah has some Emily of New Moon feelings Our highs and lows of 2022 And Dina makes Hannah and Jen play a Cozy Christmas Mystery Quiz Someone bur...
110 - Can't Lit - Billy-Ray Belcourt
October 31, 2022 07:00 - 1 hour - 84.2 MBHello friends! Happy Halloween! As a treat we talk to the amazing Billy-Ray Belcourt about his new novel, A Minor Chorus, writing outside genre, the era of the slim volume and more! I don't know if there are any literary tricks up our sleeves, but it's a great talk! And there are mentions of spooky uses of cutlery and pet Halloween costumes.
109 - Can't Lit - Dina & Jen - Asking Each Other
August 29, 2022 07:00 - 52 minutes - 72.2 MBHello! We are here for the last episode of summer! Dina and Jen go sans-guest, not sans-fards, and talk to each other about literally whatever they feel like! Both prepared questions the other had no idea about. Topics include: writing stuff, emotion stuff and fashion trend stuff! But what stuff? Better listen to find out!
108 - Can't Lit - Emma Healey
June 27, 2022 07:00 - 1 hour - 91 MBWlecome to summer! We have a glorious guest to cool things down with sparkling conversation, Emma Healey! We talk about her new memoir Best Young Woman Job Book, prose and prose poetry, writing about life and money, and bringing pugilism back to the literary. Also, bringing farm animals to the literary world. We have fun! This episode pairs well with an icy beverage!
107 - Can't Lit - Francine Cunningham
May 30, 2022 07:00 - 1 hour - 89.6 MBHello! It's short story month and we talk to the multi-talented poet, writer and all around lovely person, Francine Cunnnigham about her new short story collection, God Isn't Here Today (Invisible Publishing 2022), how she writes character, how darkness and humour work together and what she's got coming up next. Jen gives some emotionally astute advice/thoughts and Dina talks about HEMORRHOIDS! Find out more about Francine at https://www.francinecunningham.ca/.
106 - Can't Lit Live! with Jason Purcell, Jónína Kirton & Tolu Oloruntoba
April 29, 2022 07:00 - 1 hour - 163 MBHappy Poetry Month! Sure, we waited until the end of the month to record out latest episode, but it's a pure poetry delight with three absolute superstar poets: Jason Purcell, Jónína Kirton and Tolu Oloruntoba. We talk about their new books, Purcell's Swollening (Arsenal Pulp Press), Kirton's Standing in a River of Time (Talonbooks) and Oloruntoba's Each One a Furnace. In addition to three stellar interviews Dina gets Jen, Jason, Tolu and Jónína to play a game of Name that Celebrity Poetry ...
105 - Can't Lit - Jane Davidson
March 28, 2022 07:00 - 1 hour - 96 MBHello listeners! This month we talk to the Artistic and Executive Director of the Sunshine Coast Festival of the Written Arts, Jane Davidson! We chat about planning a literary festival, pitches, amazing events and what it's been like running the festival for fifteen years. And as always, tangents, Rosie barks, rage and emotions.
104 - Can't Lit - Naben Ruthnum
February 28, 2022 08:00 - 1 hour - 90.1 MBHello! This month we talk to the incredible writer and lovely person, Naben Ruthnum! In this episode we talk about his new novel, A Hero of Our Time, writing compelling dialogue, writing with humour, lies as storytelling, and so much more, including a tangent on Naben's cat and there are some important Rosie interjections. Rage and emotions and so much more! It's a fantastic conversation and very fun.
103- Can't Lit - Dina & Jen: Start Me Up
January 31, 2022 08:00 - 56 minutes - 77.7 MBHappy New Year! We're here to shout into mics for another year. In this episode Dina and Jen talk about getting back to writing, what it looks like, or doesn't, how they keep notes, and what gets them back into their manuscripts after time away. They also weigh in on some important celebrity news!
102- Can't Lit - Can't Lit Holiday Fun Times Live!
December 23, 2021 18:15 - 1 hour - 129 MBHappy Holidays! Another live episode to celebrate the union of Can't Lit and Real Vancouver Writers' Series. Dina, Jen are joined by Sean Cranbury as co-host to talk about books we loved this year, what we want to leave behind in the literary world and what we want from 2022. And we're joined by special guests: Meghan Waitt, nathan dueck, Daniel Zomparelli, Dolina and Henry Del Bucchia! Listen, laugh, love! LOL! We love you all and wishing you the best, and Happy New Year! See you in 2022, k...
101- Can't Lit - Ellie Sawatzky & Isabella Wang
November 29, 2021 08:00 - 1 hour - 108 MBTwo poets! You bet. In this episode Jen and Dina talk to debut poets, Ellie Sawatzky (None of this Belongs to Me) and Isabella Wang (Pebble Swing) about their new collections out now with Nightwood editions. There is chatting about going from chapbook to full length collection, paying tribute to poets that came before, and narrative poems. Jen is feeling her feelings and Dina is angry about some stuff and there is one very surprising What Can't You With.
100- Can't Lit - Can't Lit Live 100!
October 25, 2021 07:00 - 1 hour - 154 MBHello everyone! We finally made it to 100! This episode was recorded live in Crowdcast on October 22, 2021 and the guests were members of the audience. Daniel joined the regular hosts and Dina and Jen share 100 minutes of rage and emotion. Featuring appearances by: Sean Cranbury, Jenna Lyn Albert, Bianca Spence, Paul Vermeersch, Roxan Marucot, Cynara Geissler, Hannah McGregor, nathan dueck, Jake Byrne, Samantha Jones, Kelvin Kong and Meghan Waitt. Thanks for listening!
099- Can't Lit - Casey Plett
September 27, 2021 12:50 - 1 hour - 83.8 MBIt's autumn and time to get cozy with a podcast. This episode we have the talented writer, editor, publisher and delight, Casey Plett! We talk about her new short story collection, A Dream of a Woman (Arsenal Pulp Press), writing with feeling, clothes, short story collection structure, and Wayne Gretzky branding. And to kick off the season, Dina makes Casey and Jen play Would You Rather: Fall Book Edition.
098- Can't Lit - Shashi Bhat
August 30, 2021 07:00 - 1 hour - 84.1 MBHello listeners! This episode is a delightful treat with the writer, editor and instructor, Shashi Bhat! We talk about her new novel, The Most Precious Substance on Earth, novel writing, pop culture in fiction, writing with humour and, somehow, Woodstock '99. All that and other brief tangents we know you'll love, and the usual rage and emotions you trust.
097 - Can't Lit - Dina & Jen
July 26, 2021 07:00 - 59 minutes - 81.2 MBThis summer is real warm and his episode's hot topic: money! Dina and Jen talk about finances, crunching numbers, advances, events, and the strong feelings that go along with talking about what we're worth and what we're paid. The dogs are barking (Rosie and her friend Marty) and we open the show talking about one of our faves, Britney Spears.
096 - Can't Lit - Dina & Jen
July 26, 2021 07:00 - 59 minutes - 81.2 MBThis summer is real warm and his episode's hot topic: money! Dina and Jen talk about finances, crunching numbers, advances, events, and the strong feelings that go along with talking about what we're worth and what we're paid. The dogs are barking (Rosie and her friend Marty) and we open the show talking about one of our faves, Britney Spears.
096 - Can't Lit - Hilary Atleo
June 28, 2021 07:00 - 1 hour - 104 MBSummer is here and so are we, in podcast form! And we are thrilled to talk to the wonderful, smart and very fun, Hilary Atleo from Iron Dog Books. We discuss bookselling in a pandemic and in general, book discovery and pricing and summer reads. Three booksellers chatting about books and the book stuff. What more could you want? How about Jen feeling some things and Dina raging about onions. And Hilary gives us another incredible What Can't You With? Listen up and listen in. Iron Dog Books...
095 - Can't Lit - Sarah Berman
May 31, 2021 07:00 - 1 hour - 95.8 MBHello pod friends! We are here with an excellent episode and our very wonderful guest, Sarah Berman! We talk about her book, Don't Call it a Cult: The Shocking Story of Keith Raniere and the Women of NXIVM. We talk about organizing research, the craft of non-fiction, writing about difficult subjects, and hugs in a half-vaxxed world. Jen is emotional about the pandemic, and Dina is angry about technology and food. And Sarah delivers one of the best "What Can't You With," answers in Can't Lit ...
094 - Can't Lit - Dina Interviews Jen
April 26, 2021 07:00 - 1 hour - 91.1 MBWe're back! And Jen has a new book of poetry (her debut!) so Dina interviews her about The Shadow List (Wolsak & Wynn, Buckrider Books), and we talk about voice, narrative, big feelings and pleather. And, if you missed emotions and rage, those are back too. Thanks for listening.
093 - Can't Lit - Top Ten 2020
December 31, 2020 16:44 - 52 minutes - 72.3 MBWe made it through 2020! Good for us! Dina & Jen decide to look back on what they liked about the year, in a loose, literary-adjacent way. What is in their top ten? Listen to find out! Thanks for listening. We love you.
092 - Can't Lit - Dina & Jen
November 30, 2020 08:00 - 46 minutes - 64.2 MBHello! In this episode Dina and Jen talk about writing in the year 2020. What's it like? Are we doing it? What's up with that? If you are or aren't writing we say good for you because everything is hard and also you deserve a break!
091 - Can't Lit - Marlowe Granados
October 26, 2020 07:00 - 1 hour - 110 MBBoo! Oh no. We didn't want to scare you. Just want you to know we have a new episode with the amazing writer, filmmaker, podcaster and style icon Marlowe Granados. We talk about her debut novel Happy Hour (out now with Flying Books), debuting a book during a pandemic, writing fun and smart characters, and yes, even ghosts!
090 - Can't Lit - Dina & Jen
September 28, 2020 07:00 - 54 minutes - 75.2 MBHuge news! Not really. Well, we managed to record an episode! This time it's just Dina and Jen talking about the ugly, the bad and the good of literary stuff. We don't cover it all, but we cover some! And on the very good side we mention the authors and titles of some fall books we're very excited about. And there is talk of Rosie, Silver Springs and how we're doing right now. Spoiler: we're not great, we're fine-ish.
090 - Can't Lit - Daniel, Dina & Jen
July 31, 2020 17:00 - 58 minutes - 80.1 MBHosts past, present and future are all together to talk about books and stuff. They get into summer time sweatiness, talking to dogs in Italian, and talk about some spring and summer books they've read and loved and some they want to get to reading. Nemesis updates are available!
089 - Can't Lit - David Ly
June 29, 2020 07:00 - 1 hour - 98.4 MBHello listeners! We have missed you. We're back with a bang and very wonderful guest, poet and human delight, David Ly! We talk about his debut poetry collection, Mythical Man, writing with transparency, mythical creatures, writing our experience and what we love about poetry. Links to stuff mentioned in the show: Black Resistance Vancouver Database: https://blackresistancevancouver.online/?fbclid=IwAR0YKR0X0o9CXRwqYD09Q_rfffVUy_9BaU50Kf8Pe1SkoDel3Zs3XxYY_hQb Hogan’s Alley Society: ht...
A Can't Lit Update
May 04, 2020 17:04 - 6 minutes - 9.53 MBHello friends! We miss you. Dina drops in to say hey what's up. More episodes soon. We promise. What does soon mean? Soon we'll know. xo
088 - Can't Lit - Dina & Jen - Advice
February 10, 2020 08:00 - 41 minutes - 57.3 MBIn the first mini episode of the year Dina & Jen talk about advice. How to take it, how to give it, how to wade through the never-ending muck of it, and most importantly, how not to take advice that doesn't work for you.
087 - Can't Lit - Cynara Geissler
January 27, 2020 08:00 - 1 hour - 111 MBHappy 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.
086- Can't Lit - Dina & Jen - The Decade
December 23, 2019 08:00 - 53 minutes - 73.7 MBIn 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
085- Can't Lit - Gossip
November 11, 2019 08:00 - 30 minutes - 41.8 MBAnd we're back to chat about shhhhhhh... gossip. What is it? Is it good? Is it bad? Are Dina and Jen prone to doing it? We answer all these questions and ask some that aren't easy to answer so we trail off. Is there singing? Listen to find out. You can gossip about our singing on your time. xoxo Gossip Girls
084- Can't Lit - Lynn Coady
October 28, 2019 07:00 - 1 hour - 86.6 MBGuess 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.
083- Can't Lit - Taking a Break
October 14, 2019 07:00 - 33 minutes - 46.5 MBBoo! It's October. And what's spookier than feeling like you're constantly working? In this episode Dina and Jen talk about taking breaks. What are they? Why do we need them? What can they look like? You're not totally broken, you just need a break.
082- Can't Lit - Alicia Tobin
September 30, 2019 07:00 - 1 hour - 92.2 MBHi, 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.
081- Can't Lit - Chelene Knight
August 26, 2019 07:00 - 1 hour - 85.9 MBWe took a brief break, but now we're back! Summer's not quite over (thank goodness) and to celebrate we have the amazing writer, mentor and literary dynamo Chelene Knight as our guest. We talk about mentorship, her upcoming novel, Junie, the right form for your writing, her new endeavours, Learn Writing Essentials and Breathing Space Creative, and how we are all sweaty. And of course Rosie brings the love and we talk about Chelene's dog, Chester, and how he makes his #ChestersPicks.
080- Can't Lit - Dina & Jen - Being in Public
June 24, 2019 17:08 - 30 minutes - 42.3 MBWhy 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.
079 - Can't Lit - Andrea MacPherson
June 17, 2019 07:00 - 59 minutes - 81.3 MBIt's not official, but it's basically summer. So we talk to novelist, poet, creative writing instructor, festival director, and summer aficionado, Andrea MacPherson. In this episode we discuss productivity, writing poetry and fiction sort of simultaneously, feminism in the 70s, writing with character in mind, bikinis, and Andrea's most recent novel, What We Once Believed. We also are treated to a preview of the Fraser Valley Lit Festival, happening fall 2019, including shout outs to many for...
078 - Can't Lit - Dina & Jen - Self-loathing
May 31, 2019 07:00 - 35 minutes - 48.4 MBWriters! 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.
077 - Can't Lit - Laura Matwichuk
May 13, 2019 07:00 - 1 hour - 90.1 MBPoetry 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!