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The bestselling author Kate Hilton discusses the new novel she co-wrote with Elizabeth Renzetti, Bury the Lead (House of Anansi, 2024), with Joseph Planta. Bury the Lead by Kate Hilton and Elizabeth Renzetti (House of Anansi, 2024). Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Bury the Lead Text of the introduction by Joseph Planta: I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca. One of the best reads of the season is the new novel from Kate Hilton and Elizabeth Renzetti, Bury the Lead. It’s a mystery set at the Quill & Packet newspaper, in small-town Port Ellis, where a former big-city journalist returns to a community full of secrets, and a murder. Ms. Hilton joins me now, with Ms. Renzetti appearing on the show in a few days. The lead character is named Cat Conway, and she’s a strong character with complexities that make her real and relatable. She’s assigned to interview the legendary actor Eliot Fraser, the lead in the local theatre’s season opener. He ends up dead on opening night, and soon it’s up to Cat to uncover the sleepy town’s secrets, and perhaps solve the mystery surrounding Fraser’s death. I’ll get Ms. Hilton to tell us as much as she’d like about the book, and the characters therein. I’ll also ask her about working with Renzetti, and the crafting of a narrative and mystery. Kate Hilton is the bestselling author of three novels, The Hole in the Middle, Just Like Family, and Better Luck Next Time. When not writing, she works in psychotherapy and life coaching clients in the area of transformational change. And she knows all about that, having re-invented herself to great success, which I’ll ask about. This new book is the first in a series, and is published by House of Anansi Press. We spoke about two and half weeks ago. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Kate Hilton; Ms. Hilton, good morning. The post Kate Hilton first appeared on thecommentary.ca.

The late George Garrett is remembered by Joseph Planta with clips from interviews they did over the years. Text of the introduction by Joseph Planta: I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca. George Garrett died on Monday night. He was eighty-nine years old. Eighty-nine years is a long time, but in George’s case, I know so many people, family and friends alike, George himself, would have wanted just a little while longer. It’s a testament to a life well lived that eighty-nine years was not nearly enough. He filled those eighty-nine years with a lot. His career in reporting at CKNW and at BCTV is legendary. Much has already been said over the last day or so in the media, and social media, of his career that yielded so many awards and accolades. Each one delighted and perhaps stunned the product of middle-of-nowhere, Saskatchewan, who made his way west, and made a life and career that remain the envy of so many. It is, one should note a career that might not be possible today. It was cancer that hastened George’s life. It’s been a couple of years now since he was first diagnosed. He faced it, as he did his life and career, with dignity and enthusiasm. And as he taught us over the years how to live, in his own inimitable way, he taught us how to contend with the spectre of death. Again, with dignity, and he was gallant. Our mutual friend George Orr often describes Garrett as a gentleman. So many people have commented on his kindness as a reporter. His integrity is certainly oft-mentioned. But what made George Garrett so likeable and so good was because he was a gentleman, and a gentle man. You saw that in the compassionate lens with which he saw life and the problems of our society, in how he covered the good and the bad. And you certainly saw it in his family life, whether it’s his marriage to Joan, and the pride he took in his daughters Linda and Laurie, their families, and all those grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He’d beam when he talked about all the Garretts, Fields, and Watts. I think it’s in Proverbs that mentions something, and I’ll paraphrase here, a faithful man being abound in blessings. And George was faithful, and blessed. And he always remembered his son Ken. I still weep for George when I think of him imagining what sort of man he’d have turned out to be had he lived. I first met George Garrett about ten years ago. But it was as though I knew George Garrett my whole life, having grown up listening to CKNW. It was always time to perk one’s ears up if at the top of the hour, he was leading the newscast with something breaking, something exclusive, or both. It was through George Orr, that I first met Garrett. Orr suggested I interview George on my podcast. It is because of both of the Georges generosity, that I am proud to have called each of them friend. When it was, we three, other than lunch, great conversation was always served up. We’d alternately solve the world’s problems, catch up on life, and remember what was necessary about the past. I remember fondly the funny stories, and the lessons I learned, not just in diligence and hard work, but in kindness and decency. We all learned that. George Garrett’s reverence for the value of family, faith and friendship; his infinite curiosity made him the peerless reporter he’s been celebrated for throughout his career, and long after. It’s that same curiosity that’s made him look with wonder at the world as it’s evolved over his nearly ninety years. I was asked over the last day or so what I would miss most about George. Those are myriad and unimportant, because what I’ll miss for George is all the things he’ll miss. Just after Christmas, he mentioned that he’s expecting a third great-grandchild in the summer. He was particularly happy that Linda would be a grandmother. Despite the bleakness of the diagnosis from his doctors, I asked if he wanted to stick around for that. Without missing a beat, he said, “You bet.” So, I’ll miss that for him. I know he’ll have wanted to know how the Surrey Police situation would turn out, and of course, the rest of this Canucks season. It was soon after his first interview with me on the show, that he mentioned that he wanted to write his memoirs. I said it was a fantastic idea, and though I can’t take credit for it coming into being, I was fortunate to read an early draft and honoured that he asked for suggestions. The book became a bestseller, and George delighted in book signings and appearances, with all the proceeds from sales benefiting the Volunteer Cancer Drivers Society, an organisation he helped found and was a staunch spokesperson for, for many years. It’s one of the many charitable endeavours he supported. He always looked for a way to better the community, and that too involved getting involved politically. His endorsement, I know meant a lot to the candidates and issues he supported. It’s almost as if, after a lifetime of reporting, fairly and honestly, he was allowed to be a partisan. And it wasn’t just loyalty that guided his views, it was a careful study of the issues. There is so much more to say about the life of George Garrett. I’ll commend to those who haven’t yet read his memoir, his book Intrepid Reporter, which gives one a sense of the man and the many stories that filled his eighty-nine years. I’ll also suggest you listen to Eric Chapman’s podcast Eric’s Living Room, which has at least one episode featuring George and the story of him infiltrating the towing business for a story. It is what I believe was George’s last interview, and Eric did a great job adding colour to George’s reminiscences. Here now are some clips from conversations I had with George on this podcast. He appeared on this show six times. He often remarked, when asking as to who the latest guest on the show was, that he still had several more appearances until he reached the number of my most frequent guest, Rafe Mair. You’ll hear Garrett talking about the heights of his professional career, as well as the personal. It’s a great way to remember George. I’ll remember him often, and I’ll miss him. But the best tribute is to be just a little bit like him, and just perhaps, life will be a little bit better for you, and those around you. The post Remembering George Garrett first appeared on thecommentary.ca.

The composer, author and educator Andrew Gerle discusses the new concept album of a show he wrote the music and lyrics for Whisper Darkly (TBIC Music Group, 2023), with Joseph Planta. Text of the introduction by Joseph Planta: I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca. Whisper Darkly is a new concept album out now. It’s an immersive electro-swing musical, with music and lyrics by Andrew Gerle, and book by DJ Salisbury. Mr. Gerle joins me now to talk about this piece that’s set during Prohibition, and which combines 1920s and 1930s jazz and Vaudeville with infectious 21st Century EDM beats. The piece is set in the 1920s, but like a 2020s show with a fresh sound. This album features Kayla Davion, Claybourne Elder, Keri René Fuller, Alli Mauzey, Aléna Watters, Brad Oscar, and Howard McGillin, among others. The album is from TBIC Music Group, and available now. Andrew Gerle is a multi-faceted theatre creator, musician, author, and educator. He has served as a conductor, accompanist, and musical director for some of Broadway’s biggest names. He was a member of the faculty at Yale University for ten years, teaching songwriting and musical theater performance. He became a founding faculty member of the musical theatre department at the Manhattan School of Music where he currently teaches. Visit www.andrewgerle.com for more. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Andrew Gerle; Mr. Gerle, good morning. The post Andrew Gerle first appeared on thecommentary.ca.

The distinguished editor John Metcalf discusses the six Canadian writers (Caroline Adderson, Kristyn Dunnion, Cynthia Flood, Shaena Lambert, Elise Levine, and Kathy Page) he’s in conversation with in the new collection he’s edited Off the Record (Biblioasis, 2023), with Joseph Planta. We Need Everyone edited by John Metcalf (Biblioasis, 2023). Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Off the Record Text of the introduction by Joseph Planta: I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca. John Metcalf joins me now. The distinguished editor recently published Off the Record, a book that features conversations between Mr. Metcalf and six noted Canadian writers, Caroline Adderson, Kristyn Dunnion, Cynthia Flood, Shaena Lambert, Elise Levine, and Kathy Page. The conversations are about how each of these writers arrived at writing, and they’re candid and revelatory about the work of a writer, or family life, or the process of working with John Metcalf himself. These are rich conversations yielding relatable advice and inspiration for the writer or non-writer alike. Accompanying the conversations edited by Mr. Metcalf, is a short story written by each writer providing further insight into the craft. John Metcalf has been one of the leading editors in Canada for more than five decades editing over two hundred books, including eighteen volumes of the Best Canadian Stories anthology. He is also the author of more than a dozen works of fiction and nonfiction including Finding Again in the World, Vital Signs, and An Aesthetic Underground, among others. In 2004, he was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada. He is the senior fiction editor at Biblioasis, who also publish this new book. We taped this interview three weeks ago, with Mr. Metcalf joining me from his home in Ottawa. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, John Metcalf; Mr. Metcalf, good morning. The post John Metcalf first appeared on thecommentary.ca.

The artistic director of Mitch and Murray Productions Aaron Craven discusses their new production that he’s directing, Mike Bartlett’s An Intervention, with Joseph Planta. Text of the introduction by Joseph Planta: I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca. Aaron Craven joins me again. The artistic director of Mitch and Murray Productions, actor and playwright is at the helm of another production of a Mike Bartlett play, the Canadian premiere of An Intervention. It’s at Performance Works on Granville Island starting this Friday, 08 March 2024 running until 17 March 2024. We spoke two weeks ago, just as rehearsals were to start with the play’s two actors: Kate Craven and Christiaan Westerveld. The play is a look at the friendship of two people as they navigate personal divisions over a war in the Middle East. The dilemma as to whether one friend should intervene in a friend’s personal conflict is where the title of the work comes from. I’ll ask Mr. Craven about the show, the wit and intellect that the playwright deploys therein, and timeliness of the work and this production. Visit www.mitchandmurrayproductions.com for tickets and information. Please welcome back to the Planta: On the Line program, Aaron Craven; Mr. Craven, good morning. The post Aaron Craven first appeared on thecommentary.ca.

The award-winning songwriter, singer and actress Melissa Manchester discusses her new album RE:VIEW (2024), her versatile career, and more, with Joseph Planta. Text of the introduction by Joseph Planta: I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca. Melissa Manchester joins me now. Her twenty-fifth album RE:VIEW will be released tomorrow, featuring ten songs, fresh takes on her Billboard-charted classic hits; she’s had nineteen of them. Right now, she’s playing the role of Mrs. Brice in the national tour of Funny Girl, but we spoke in early December about the songs on this new album, writing music, singing, her friends, and her fifty-year career which includes a Grammy Award for 1982’s “You Should Hear How She Talks About You,” and nominations for “Don’t Cry Out Loud” in 1980, which are redone on this new album, alongside other hits “Come in From the Rain,” “Confide in Me,” and her first hit in 1975, “Midnight Blue.” The new recording on this album is a duet with Dolly Parton. Another duet partner on RE:VIEW is Kenny Loggins, who with Dave Koz, sing with Ms. Manchester on the album’s opening track, “Whenever I Call You Friend.” Melissa Manchester’s website is at www.melissamanchester.com, where you can read more about her long and versatile career as a songwriter, singer and actress on both stage and screen. In 2021, she was inducted into the Great American Songbook Foundation’s Hall of Fame. She is also the recipient of the Governor’s Award from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. This new album is from Green Hill, which is a subsidiary of Primary Wave Music. You can get the album tomorrow, Friday, 23 February 2024 everywhere including Apple Music and Spotify. She joined me from Los Angeles. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Melissa Manchester; Ms. Manchester, good morning. The post Melissa Manchester first appeared on thecommentary.ca.

The celebrated jazz pianist and vocalist Champian Fulton discusses her work, upcoming performances in Vancouver at Frankie’s Jazz Club (01, 02 March 2024), and her new album Cory Weeds Meets Champian Fulton Every Now and Then (release date: 12 April 2024), with Joseph Planta. Text of the introduction by Joseph Planta: I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca. Champian Fulton joins me now. The acclaimed jazz pianist and vocalist is in British Columbia this week, tonight in Nanaimo, Thursday in Victoria, and Friday in Maple Ridge. She’s on tour with Vancouver’s Cory Weeds, a longtime collaborator, as they perform songs off their upcoming album, Cory Weeds Meets Champian Fulton Every Now and Then. It comes out in April, but there’s a track off the album available now on Apple Music. I caught up with Ms. Fulton last week, and we talked about working with Weeds, this new album, performing, and the timeless music from the Great American Songbook and beyond that she sings and plays so well. Next week, there are dates in the Southwest, in San Antonio and Phoenix, before two nights at Frankie’s Jazz Club here in Vancouver, March 1st and 2nd, 2024. Visit www.frankiesjazzclub.ca for reservations. Champian Fulton is considered one of her generation’s most gifted pure jazz musicians. She’s a mainstay in New York City’s jazz scene, taking the town by storm ever since she left Oklahoma, her state of birth. Visit www.champian.net for more information. The new album will be released April 12th. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Champian Fulton; Ms. Fulton, good morning. The post Champian Fulton first appeared on thecommentary.ca.

The community leader and author Michael Redhead Champagne discusses his new book for young readers We Need Everyone (Highwater Press, 2024), with Joseph Planta. We Need Everyone by Michael Redhead Champagne (Highwater Press, 2024). Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: We Need Everyone Text of the introduction by Joseph Planta: I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca. Michael Redhead Champagne joins me now. He’s just published a children’s book, his first, We Need Everyone. I’ll ask him about it, and the important lessons therein. Michael’s life’s work is building community through justice, equity, and love. Empowering children with the realisation that they have gifts that are useful and needed in our world today is the key to this book. Some young people, hell even adults don’t think they have any discernable gifts. This book outlines a number of traits and habits that are indeed necessary for a better world. I’ll ask Michael about some of them, and just how important they are to foster and encourage in young people. Michael Redhead Champagne is a community leader from Winnipeg’s North End with family roots in the Shamattawa First Nation. He’s also a noted public speaker, host, and storyteller. Visit www.michaelredheadchampagne.com for more. This new book is published by Highwater Press. We spoke two weeks ago. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Michael Redhead Champagne; Michael, good morning. The post Michael Redhead Champagne first appeared on thecommentary.ca.

The distinguished thinker and philanthropist Yosef Wosk discusses his memoir Naked in a Pyramid: Travels & Observations (Anvil Press, 2023), with Joseph Planta. Naked in a Pyramid: Travels & Observations by Yosef Wosk (Anvil Press, 2023). Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Naked in a Pyramid Text of the introduction by Joseph Planta: I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca. Yosef Wosk joins me now. He has been described as somebody who frequently helps others but remains a stranger. In a new memoir, Naked in a Pyramid: Travels & Observations we catch glimpses of the man, his thoughts, and his many adventures around the world. The title of the book describes an episode when the day after Wosk climbed the Great Pyramid of Giza at midnight, he returned alone to meditate, spoiler alert: en déshabillé. We read his inner most thoughts as he travels to the South Pole, and the North Pole. We follow his journeys of thought and higher learning. He is an ordained rabbi, who holds Ph.Ds in Religion & Literature (Boston University), as well as in Psychology, and masters degrees in Education (Yeshiva University), and Theology (Harvard). He writes generously of his teachers and the influence that great thinkers and artists have had on his life, such as Leonard Cohen, Elie Wiesel, and many others who he’s learned from in various fields of thought and endeavour. The book is meditative as well as generously allows for the reader to wander through their own thoughts, to one’s own travels, experiences, and remember their own teachers. Yosef, who joined me earlier this week, writes of his family, their arrival to Canada, their endeavours in the community as well as their philanthropy. I’ll ask about the roots of his and his family’s generosity, as well as the existential questions one might have about life and death itself, themes that Yosef thoughtfully and fascinatingly discusses in the book. Yosef Wosk is an Officer of the Order of Canada, a member of the Order of British Columbia, and a recipient of the City of Vancouver’s Freedom of the City. He has founded hundreds of libraries on all seven continents, supported museums worldwide, and endowed Vancouver’s Poet Laureate program, among many other philatrophic endeavours. You can read more at his website www.yosefwosk.org. This new book is published by Anvil Press. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Yosef Wosk; Dr. Wosk, good morning. The post Yosef Wosk first appeared on thecommentary.ca.

The journalist and writer Morgan Campbell discusses his new memoir My Fighting Family: Borders and Bloodlines That Made Us (McClelland & Stewart, 2024), with Joseph Planta. My Fighting Family: Borders and Bloodlines That Made Us by Morgan Campbell (McClelland & Stewart, 2024). Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: My Fighting Family Text of the introduction by Joseph Planta: I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca. Morgan Campbell joins me now. He’s just published a memoir, My Fighting Family: Borders and Bloodlines That Made Us. It’s a book about his family that fought a lot. It’s also about his family’s migration from the United States to Canada. It’s about race, racism, and coming-of-age as somebody who is Black. It’s also about music. It’s about family, family relations, and grudges. Two unforgettable characters in the book, Morgan’s maternal grandfather, Claude Jones, a noted pianist and jazz contemporary and friend of Oscar Peterson and George Shearing, was a legendary grudge holder, as was his paternal grandmother, Mary. She lived in Chicago, but despite the geographical distance, she cast a shadow on the family; there were resentments and betrayals. The growth of Morgan, a noted writer and award-winning journalist is throughout the book. We see that in the music he likes, and the popular culture he consumes. The way he watches television or listens to radio would be somewhat foreign to somebody coming of age today, and he lovingly chronicles that in the book. In his search for identity, Morgan also writes about the touchstones that shaped his life like sport, football in particular, as well as James Baldwin. It’s exciting to read Morgan as a young man encounter Baldwin’s writing, and what that changes in Morgan’s mind and outlook. For over eighteen years, Morgan Campbell worked at the Toronto Star establishing himself as one of Canada’s eminent sports writers. He is currently a senior contributor at CBC Sports, and a contributor to the New York Times. His noted writing has highlighted the intersections of sport with race, culture, politics, and business. This new book is published by McClelland & Stewart. We spoke this past Friday. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Morgan Campbell; Mr. Campbell, good morning. The post Morgan Campbell first appeared on thecommentary.ca.