Anita Lahey

My guest on this episode is Anita Lahey. Anita is the author of six books, including The Mystery Shopping Cart: Essays on Poetry and Culture and two poetry collections: Spinning Side Kick and Out to Dry in Cape Breton and a the memoir The Last Goldfish, which was a finalist for the Ottawa Book Award. She is also an award-winning magazine journalist, and she serves as the series editor of the annual Best Canadian Poetry anthology. Anita’s most recent two books were both published in 2023: Fire Monster, a poetic graphic novel collaboration with artist Pauline Conley, was published by Palimpsest Press. And While Supplies Last, a poetry collection published by the Signal Editions imprint of Véhicule Press. Author Luke Hathaway called Fire Monster “a gift of storytelling” and a “work of grace,” while poet Molly Peacock called While Supplies Last "capacious, generous, and gently funny.”

Anita and I talk about why she maintains a very limited online presence these days, how her journalistic instincts intersect with her poetic impulses, and, on that topic, how she turned a series of COVID-era radio traffic reports into verse.

 

Anita Lahey: anitalahey.com

Music: "simple-hearted thing" by Alex Lukashevsky. Used with permission.

Contact Nathan Whitlock at nathanwhitlock.ca/contact