Stories Less Spoken

This past year has united us all in ways that no one could have predicted. Whether it's wearing a mask, waiting in line, cancelling travel plans, or standing 6 feet apart, the ongoing pandemic has changed our lives forever. That said, we believe that this bizarre moment in history has spawned some incredible stories, and so we sought out to hear them!

Featured in this episode:

Roar by Cornelia Hoogland,
performed by Michael Maitland

About the Bread by Anneliese Schultz 
performed by Mankirian Aujila

A Hole in the Roof  by Nifer Brooks,
performed by Charlie Materi

Little Story Series is like Stories Less Spoken's younger sibling. It's a project that we're passionate about that features (very) short stories written by BC authors around a given theme. Some of these stories are then shared on our Instagram alongside original photos and a select few are performed in a bonus 'minisode'. Think of it as a nice little complement to our main podcast - an appetizer if you will. 

Love, love, love.  Given that we are so close to Valentine's Day for our fifth episode, we at Stories Less Spoken thought we'd better give it some air time.
 
In two incredible stories, which are very different from one another, we explore love in the empty spaces that it leaves, and that it creates.

In the first story a couple doesn’t see eye to eye on how to get rid of ants in their home… and more than insects are becoming apparent in the cracks of the foundation.

In the second story we go down a lonely and dangerous road with our protagonist as they fill the empty space a lost love has left.

Pest Control, Angela Caravan
Performed by James Mills

Pennask Summit, Finnian Burnett 
Performed by Megan Greenwood

For better or worse, the decisions we make have consequences. 

And there are few decisions that offer as immediate and profound consequences as becoming a parent does. No matter what way you get there, caring for and raising a child is an experience both unique and common. Life, and the nurturing of it, is a thread that ties us all. 

In Episode Four of Stories Less Spoken, we explore two tales; one from inside motherhood, and the other from the precipice of it.

Featured in this episode:

Because Fall in in Two Week, Traci Skuce, From Hunger Moon

Performed by Mitzi Akaha

Ashwin’s Rules, Tricia Dower

Performed by Geetanjali Trisal

** Warning, this episode contains a brief description of a sexual scene**

When jail or a retirement home is your only option, sometimes you need to burn your past to the ground and start again. And sometimes you need to take a moment to reflect on everything you have, because freedom takes many forms. 

In this special episode of Stories Less Spoken, we teamed up with the folks at the Island Writer Magazine to feature the winning works from the 19th Annual Victoria Writers’ Society Writing Contest.

These stories, and many others, were featured in the Island Writer, December 2020 Edition. 

Featuring:

Various Functions of Fire, Sharon McInnes 
Performed by Sally Campbell

Borders, Jude Morton
Performed by Afarin Saadat

Wild Strawberries, Ulrike Narwani 
Performed by Elizabeth Hall

A dead cat travelling home, a river needing rain and people longing for their loved ones.

In the second episode of Stories Less Spoken, we visit grief in its dark and sometime peculiar manifestations. From a difficult sister in Portland to old friends at the Sooke River, we find comfort in the strangest ways...

Featuring:
Julie Paul, author, Crossing Over
Performed by Mark Mullan

Jim Bottomley, author, Running with Salmon
Performed by Derek Peach

In this episode we hear two stories where ominous, powerful figures compel people to act in unexpected ways.

In the first piece, the staff members of a public library turn on their beloved workplace. In the second, a woman can't stop eating all the flowers in her garden...

Featuring:
Susan Sanford Blades, author, We Did Not Destroy Your Public Library 
Performed by Andrea Scoretz

Kari Jones, author, Garden Dreams 
Performed by Katherine Pagett 

This is the introduction music to our podcast, stay tuned for our first episode!