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The acclaimed pop, jazz vocalist and songwriter Liam Forde discusses his debut album Great to Be Here (Ballyhoo Music, 2022), with Joseph Planta.

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.

Liam Forde joins me now. The acclaimed pop, jazz vocalist and songwriter, as well as actor, has just released his debut album Great to Be Here. It’s a swinging, sometimes nostalgic, always entertaining collection of original songs that blend cosmopolitan pop and vintage sound, with contemporary influences from Jon Batiste, Lake Street Drive, and Rufus Wainwright. What Mr. Forde has created is a collection of songs that include ones that evoke café society as if Cole Porter or Noel Coward had written it, while also presenting ones with rhythms that would remind one of Stevie Wonder. Liam Forde is a New York-based singer and songwriter who the Wall Street Journal described as “the boy wonder [that] never fails to find precisely the right note.” The Washington Post said of his acting that his performance in Hand to God was a “breakout performance.” He’s the recipient of many awards including the Bistro Award for Performer on the Rise, the Nightlife Award, the Mabel Mercer Foundation’s Julie Wilson Award, a Helen Hayes Award, among many others. He’s headlined in London and Paris, and is a fixture in the cabaret scene in New York City. This new album is from Ballyhoo Music and is available everywhere you get your music, streaming or download. Visit www.liam-forde.com, and his Instagram account @Liam.Forde.Music. We spoke last week. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Liam Forde; Mr. Forde, good morning.

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The poet Ellie Sawatzky discusses her debut collection None of This Belongs to Me (Nightwood Editions, 2021), with Joseph Planta.

Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: None of This Belongs to Me

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.

Another poetry collection to examine this National Poetry Month is the debut collection of Ellie Sawatzky: None of This Belongs to Me. She joins me now to talk about the poems therein. Some deal with love, with loss, with regret, and the personal. I’ll ask her about her upbringing, and how her memory was mined for some of the poems in this collection. Written by a millennial, the book is a terrific capsule of memories not just of the author, but the times we live in; replete with technological and cultural references of Ellie’s lifetime. We’ll talk about writing too, and place. There are a number of poems that look at places she’s been, she’s lived in that she evokes clearly and vividly for the reader. Ellie Sawatzky is a writer from Kenora, Ontario. She was a finalist for the 2019 Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers, and the recipient of CV2’s 2017 Young Buck Poetry Prize. She holds an MFA in creative writing from the University of British Columbia, and joined me from here in Vancouver. This collection is published by Nightwood Editions. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Ellie Sawatzky; Ms. Sawatzky, good morning.

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The poet and educator Chris Banks discusses his recent collection Deepfake Serenade (Nightwood Editions, 2021), with Joseph Planta.

Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Deepfake Serenade

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.

We continue marking National Poetry Month on the program with a conversation with the poet Chris Banks. He recently published a collection called Deepfake Serenade. It is his sixth poetry collection that is lauded for its precise language, and imagery that is fresh and revelatory. I ask Mr. Banks about writing, and the themes in this collection. Among them, the inevitable, loss, masculinity, and books. There’s more that we talk about in this conversation we taped a couple of weeks ago. Chris Banks is the author of five other poetry collections including Midlife Action Figure, and Bonfires, which was awarded the Jack Chalmers Award for Poetry by the Canadian Authors Association in 2004. It was also a finalist for the Gerald Lampert Memorial Award for best first book of poetry in Canada. This book is published by Nightwood Editions. He joined me from Kitchener, Ontario. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Chris Banks; Mr. Banks, good morning.

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The writer Emma Cote discusses her debut novel Unrest (Anvil Press, 2022), with Joseph Planta.

Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Unrest

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.

Mylène Andrews, our central character in the new novel by Emma Cote, Unrest, is a mortician. She spends her days dealing with death, the death of others, and is seemingly unclear about how to deal with one in her family. Her mother has died, and though they were estranged, they’re brought back together as Mylène finds postcards left behind; messages that were unmailed. They were written at various graveyards that her mother Cerise had visited before her death. So as a way to connect, she sets off in her hearse to go to each place across the United States and parts of Canada. The book provides often comical situations that our mortician encounters along the way. There are people puzzled by and are often uneasy or bewildered by it all. Naturally this offers a glimpse as to a lot of our own unease around death. Some can prepare for it as much as they can, but very few can talk openly about it. Ms. Cote joins me now, and I’ll ask her about this book, about the writing of it, which was part of the 43rd Annual 3-Day Novel Writing Contest, which she won. I’ll ask about the themes in the book, about death, about mourning, and the media. Over the course of Mylène’s travels she attracts the attention of the press, which provides a terrific insight as to what we all find interesting thanks of media coverage. This debut novel is published by Anvil Press. Emma Cote grew up in a small town in Northern Ontario. She studied journalism, English literature, and creative writing, and recently completed a postgraduate certificate in publishing. This is her debut novel. She joined me from Wawa, Ontario late last month. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Emma Cote; Ms. Cote, good morning.

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The acclaimed performer, writer, director, and musician Renae Morriseau discusses the late Taran Kootenhayoo’s play White Noise, which will have its world premiere at the Firehall Arts Centre (16 April-01 May 2022), with Joseph Planta.

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.

The death in 2019 of the actor and playwright Taran Kootenhayoo was a such loss for the arts community not just here in Vancouver, but across Canada. He was lauded for his imagination and artistry in various disciplines. Now, starting this Saturday, 16 April 2022 and through to May 1st, 2022, the Firehall Arts Centre and Savage Society are presenting the world premiere of White Noise, a play written by Kootenhayoo. Its director Renae Morriseau joins me now to talk about Taran and his play. I’ll ask her to tell us as much as she’d like about the play and what we all might expect at the Firehall at 280 East Cordova. This much I know, it’s a comedy about two families who have dinner for the first time during Truth and Reconciliation week. This production stars Sam Bob, Columpa Bobb, Braiden Houle, Mike Wasko, Anita Wittenberg, and Anais West. Visit www.firehallartscentre.ca for tickets and information. Wednesday afternoon performances are Pay What You Can. Renae Morriseau is originally from Manitoba and of Saulteaux and Cree descent, and has called Vancouver’s Coast Salish shores home for more than thirty years now. Critically acclaimed for her work in television and the theatre, she received the 2015 City of Vancouver Mayor’s Arts Award. She’ll also be doubtless recognised for her work on the television series North of 60. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Renae Morriseau; Ms. Morriseau, good morning.

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The poet Matt Rader discusses his recent collection Ghosthawk (Nightwood Editions, 2021), with Joseph Planta.

Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Ghosthawk

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.

We continue talking to poets and their poetry this National Poetry Month as Matt Rader joins me again. The celebrated poet recently published a new collection, Ghosthawk. The notices for it have been really terrific, lauding Matt’s poetry for its beauty, its humility, and intense vision. The writer Jan Zwicky describes Mr. Rader a seer. This collection is described as a guidebook of imagination from grasslands to star fields to the weather of the poet’s body. It describes so evocatively the outdoors around his home in the Okanagan Valley, and how it affects not just his life but ours for the better. I’ll ask Matt to reflect on love and loss, as well as how he is. Asking somebody how they are is such a throw-away, we do it on impulse often not listening to the answer that question elicits. So, I thought Matt might have some thoughts on that itself, as I began our conversation that we taped nearly fourteen days ago. Matt Rader is an award-winning author of four volumes of poetry and a collection of stories, What I Want to Tell Goes Like This, which was published by Nightwood Editions, who publish Ghosthawk now. He was first on the program back in 2019 for his collection Visual Inspection. He is a core member of the Department of Creative Studies at UBC Okanagan where he lectures in creative writing. He joined me from Vernon, BC. Please welcome back to the Planta: On the Line program, Matt Rader; Mr. Rader, good morning.

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The celebrated photographer Elliott Landy discusses his latest collection Photographs of Janis Joplin: On the Road & On Stage (Backbeat Books, 2022), with Joseph Planta.

Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Photographs of Janis Joplin

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.

Elliott Landy is considered one of the first music photographers to be recognised as an artist. He joins me now to talk about his recent collection, Photographs of Janis Joplin: On the Road & On Stage. It’s published by Backbeat Books. They feature photographs taken by Mr. Landy, as well as Joplin’s own words taken from recorded interviews she gave with David Dalton. They serve as extended captions to the photographs, and provide such marvelous insight about Joplin as an artist and a person. Elliott Landy was one of only two official photographers for the 1969 Woodstock Festival. His photographic works have been published in books and magazines for over fifty years, and include famous portraits of Bob Dylan, The Band, Van Morrison, and Jimi Hendrix. He has been exhibited in many museums and art institutions around the world, and has published ten books of photography. He is currently working on an interactive music video app, as well as other genres of photography books, and guiding Zoom sessions of Sharing Stillness, all about the simple way of spirituality he has found. Visit Elliott’s website at www.elliottlandy.com. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Elliott Landy; Mr. Landy, good morning.

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The acclaimed poet Russell Thornton discusses his latest collection Answer to Blue (Harbour Publishing, 2021), with Joseph Planta.

Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Answer to Blue

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.

Russell Thornton joins me again. The acclaimed poet recently published a new collection, Answer to Blue. The poems therein are lauded for his imagery, his depth, and clarity. They’re poems that reflect on memory, the natural world, family, and more. I’ll ask Russell about his poems, how he writes poetry, and the recent news of one of his previous books, The Fifth Window (Thistledown Press, 2000) going viral on Tik Tok. Russell Thornton’s 2014 collection The Hundred Lives was shortlisted for the Griffin Poetry Prize, and his 2013 collection Birds, Metals, Stones & Rain, which he was first on the program with, was shortlisted for the Governor General’s Literary Award for Poetry, the Raymond Souster Award, and the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize. He’s appeared in a number of anthologies as well. Answer to Blue is from Harbour Publishing. This will be the first in a number of shows I’ll be doing featuring poets and their collections, as April is National Poetry Month. Please welcome back to the Planta: On the Line program, Russell Thornton; Mr. Thornton, good morning.

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Sarah Roa, one of the stars of the Gateway Theatre’s latest production In Wonderland (07-16 April 2022), joins Joseph Planta to talk about the production and more.

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.

In Wonderland is the latest production at the Gateway Theatre; it starts tomorrow. Based on the Lewis Carroll books Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, playwright Anna Cummer’s adaptation is an imaginative and contemporary retelling. The production stars Sarah Roa, who joins me now, and Natascha Girgis, and Graham Percy. I’ll ask Ms. Roa about working on this production, and what audiences might be able to expect. The show begins in previews Thursday, 07 April 2022, and runs until April 16th. Visit www.gatewaytheatre.com for tickets and information. The play was commissioned by Alberta Theatre Projects, and I reached Sarah this past weekend in Calgary. Sarah Roa is a Filipina Canadian actor originating from here in the Unceded Territories of the Tsleil-Waututh, Squamish and Musqueam Nations. She holds an acting diploma from Douglas College, and a BFA in Acting from UBC. She’s worked for numerous theatre companies here in Vancouver and across Canada. Visit her own website at www.sarahroa.com. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Sarah Roa; Ms. Roa, good morning.

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The journalist and author David Spaner discusses his new book Solidarity: Canada’s Unknown Revolution of 1983 (Ronsdale Press, 2021), with Joseph Planta.

Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Solidarity

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.

One of the more engaging books of the season, a terrific book of history, is the latest by David Spaner. It’s called Solidarity: Canada’s Unknown Revolution of 1983. It looks at what happened in British Columbia following the spring re-election of the Social Credit Party. It’s Premier Bill Bennett’s third election victory, and soon a raft of legislation is proposed, some twenty-six bills. If you go to see some of the old Jack Webster, BCTV shows on YouTube, that September as he returns to the air, he refers to it all as Bennett’s “Master Plan.” It’s not hyperbole, as we read in David’s book, the legislation is right-wing, neo-conservative in nature, slashing spending throughout the government, undermining unions, and marginalising minorities. Soon a resistance movement emerges, bringing together trade unionists, activists, and people who’d neither protested nor been politicised previously. Mr. Spaner, who joins me now, provides the scene that summer, as a couple of public sector unions were on strike, the teachers, and the BC Government Employees Union. There are street protests, occupations, and plans for an all-out general strike. And going beyond describing day-to-day events, David also looks at the various people involved, giving the reader a sense of their background, and what compels them to get involved with Solidarity. Some have roots going back generations with unions or activism. Some do not. There are familiar names, like filmmaker Nettie Wild, as well Raj Chouhan, who’s now the Speaker of the BC Legislature, Fred Wah, Patsy George, Stan Persky, and many others. We meet the larger-than-life characters associated with Solidarity like Jack Munro and Art Kube. We get a sense in the book as to British Columbia and its unique political landscape. The polarisation politically between the left and the right is at its height, and election results bear this out before 1983 and later. The flashes of activism whether it’s the labour union movement, or environmentalism, or anti-war or anti-nuclear groups are chronicled, and we get a sense of the heady times from the 1960s on that sort of set in motion what happens in 1983. It’s a lively book, and important history considering Solidarity itself fizzles out by the fall of that year. I’ll ask David about that and more. David Spaner is a veteran journalist, who’s worked as a feature writer, movie critic, reporter, and editor for numerous newspapers and magazines. He’s also been a cultural and political organiser. He is a graduate of Simon Fraser University, and the author of Dreaming in the Rain, and Shoot It! Hollywood Inc. and the Rising of Independent Film. This new book is published by Ronsdale Press. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, David Spaner; Mr. Spaner, good morning.

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