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The bookseller Hilary Atleo, owner of Iron Dog Books, talks to Joseph Planta about Canadian Independent Bookstore Day, Saturday, 19 April 2023. Text of introduction by Joseph Planta: I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca. Vancouver has such a rich bookstore scene, and it’s because of independent bookstores that you can find throughout the city like Pulp Fiction, Massy Books, Black Bond Books, and more. Joining me now is Hilary Atleo, a board member of the Canadian Independent Booksellers Association and the owner of Iron Dog Books at 2671 East Hastings Street. This Saturday, 29 April 2023 is Canadian Independent Bookstore Day, and it’s a good time to ask Hilary about Iron Dog Books, its genesis, and how it’s doing as we move into a different stage of the pandemic. Hilary has great insights as to why bookstores like hers are necessary in our neighbourhoods. Also, I’ll get her to preview what the day will be like this Saturday at Iron Dog Books. Visit www.irondogbooks.com for more information. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Hilary Atleo; Ms. Atleo, good morning. The post Hilary Atleo first appeared on thecommentary.ca.

The writer and historian Rick Antonson, joined by his grandson Riley Antonson, discusses his new memoir Train Beyond the Mountains: Journeys on the Rocky Mountaineer (Greystone, 2023), with Joseph Planta. Train Beyond the Mountains: Journeys on the Rocky Mountaineer by Rick Antonson (Greystone, 2023). Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Train Beyond the Mountains Text of introduction by Joseph Planta: I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca. One of the delightful books of the season is the latest from Rick Antonson. The travel writer and historian has written other books about his travels, but there’s nothing quite as special and captivating as his book about a train journey with his grandson, Riley. The book is called Train Beyond the Mountains: Journeys on The Rocky Mountaineer. In it, Rick recounts a journey from Banff along the route travelled by the Rocky Mountaineer to the west coast, here in Vancouver, and up through Jasper, Alberta back to Banff. We get a sense of the geography of this part of Canada, and the topography of these mountains, the trestles and tunnels through Alberta and British Columbia that also symbolise a lot of history of this country and generations of peoples along the way. The book also illustrates the relationship between a grandfather and his grandson, as they navigate not just this journey but a passing moment in a growing child’s life. Rick and Riley join me now. I’ll ask them what the trip was like, what they both got out of it, and whether a journey like this is recommended for a ten-year-old child. Both Rick and Riley are older now, as it’s been about four years since they took this trip, so it’ll be good to reflect on how each viewed the experience then as now. Rick Antonson is the former president and CEO of Tourism Vancouver, now Destination Vancouver. He served as chair of the board for Destinations International, and vice chair of the Pacific Asia Travel Association. He was vice-president of Rocky Mountaineer during its start up years, and I’ll ask him what it was like then as this brand was starting out, and about the vision of its founder Peter Armstrong. The website for more is at www.rickantonson.com. This new book is published by Greystone. Please welcome back to the Planta: On the Line program, Rick Antonson; Mr. Antonson, good morning. And please welcome to the program as well Riley Antonson; Mr. Antonson, good morning. The post Rick Antonson and Riley Antonson first appeared on thecommentary.ca.

The writer and broadcaster Connie Kuhns discusses her new book Rubymusic: A Popular History of Women’s Music and Culture (Caitlin Press, 2023), her radio show, and more, with Joseph Planta. Rubymusic: A Popular History of Women’s Music and Culture by Connie Kuhns (Caitlin Press, 2023). Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Rubymusic Text of introduction by Joseph Planta: I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca. Connie Kuhns joins me now. She’s just published Rubymusic: A Popular History of Women’s Music and Culture. It’s collects just some of the remarkable work Connie has done in over forty years, whether as a writer, a broadcaster, a music critic, and an interviewer. In 1981, she approached Vancouver Cooperative Radio to host a music show dedicated solely to playing music by women. There was some doubt as to whether there was enough music that she was only given a half hour. But even before the radio show Rubymusic, which she hosted for fifteen years, going off the air in 1996, when she was on weekly Friday nights for two hours, she was chronicling the music scene here in Vancouver and beyond. The book has got profiles and interviews with a myriad of artists including Ferron, Etta James, kd lang, Michelle Shocked, Amy Grant, Ellen McIlwaine, as well as essays on Yoko Ono, Janis Joplin, and Joni Mitchell. Some of the interviews are previews of an artist’s appearance in Vancouver, some are reviews of the shows themselves. It’s a marvelous time capsule of the music scene here, and the various venues gone and still around. The book also provides insight about Kuhns and the role music plays in her life. It’s a book everybody ought to read. Connie Kuhns’s essays have been finalists for Canada’s National Magazine Award, Western Magazine Award, and PRISM International’s creative non-fiction prize. She was a finalist for Canada’s Salt Spring National Art Prize, receiving the award for Outstanding Salt Spring Artist. This new book is published by Caitlin Press. She joined me from Salt Spring Island this past weekend. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Connie Kuhns; Ms. Kuhns, good morning. The post Connie Kuhns first appeared on thecommentary.ca.

The writer and former editor of Chatelaine Rona Maynard discusses her new memoir Starter Dog: My Path to Joy, Belonging and Loving This World (ECW Press, 2023), with Joseph Planta. Starter Dog: My Path to Joy, Belonging and Loving This World by Rona Maynard (ECW Press, 2023). Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Starter Dog Text of introduction by Joseph Planta: I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca. One of the better books of the season is one I’ve been looking forward to for a while now. Anybody that knows Rona Maynard, knows in recent years, she and her husband Paul added a dog in the family. Casey, through Rona’s accounts on Facebook, is more than a pet, and he’s added so much to their lives, especially Rona’s, who when Paul brought up the subject of getting a dog, refused. In Starter Dog: My Path to Joy, Belonging and Loving This World she recounts how Casey found his way into Rona and Paul’s home, especially Rona’s heart. We see a person transformed, and what’s enjoyable to read is her outlook on life and the people that she encounters along the way; people she might not have had any interaction with were it not for Casey. Rona joins me now to discuss the book, and more. She first appeared on the program in 2007 when her memoir My Mother’s Daughter (another great book) was published. She appeared a few times after that, though it’s been nearly twelve years since she was last on. I’ve always liked her frank, clear voice, over the phone or on the page; a lot of people read her editor’s note in Chatelaine between 1995 and 2004 when she was its editor. Something like one in four English-speaking women in Canada read that magazine then. She is a noted public speaker and lecturer on memoir and mental health. She was honoured by the Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health for her advocacy on mental health, that began with a column she wrote in 1997 where she discussed her depression. Visit www.ronamaynard.com for more. This new book is published by ECW Press. We spoke late last week. Please welcome back to the Planta: On the Line program, Rona Maynard; Ms. Maynard, good morning. The post Rona Maynard first appeared on thecommentary.ca.

A studio recording of a new work Clicquot: A Revolutionary Musical is out now, and Lisette Glodowski, who co-wrote with Richard C. Walter, the show’s book, music and lyrics, talks to Joseph Planta about the inspiring figure at the heart of the show, and more. Text of introduction by Joseph Planta: I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca. Last month the studio cast recording of a new work Clicquot: A Revolutionary Musical was released. This Friday, 14 April 2023, the EP will be out, and it’ll be a great way to hear six pieces from the new musical by the creative duo Lisette Glodowski and Richard C. Walter, who wrote the book, as well as the music and lyrics to the piece that chronicles the love story set amidst the French Revolution. At first it was an arranged marriage for Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin, who married François, who dreams of taking his father’s wine company international. They decide to take the risk of running a business but there is turmoil thanks to the Napoleonic Wars, as well as François unexpected death. Several historic figures like Bonaparte himself intersect with Barbe-Nicole’s, as well as Jean-Remy Möet, who wishes to unsettle our heroine’s plan to continue the wine business. Lisette Glodowski joins me now, and I’ll ask her about what drew her to this remarkable figure, and the process of writing a show like this from the ground up. She is a composer/lyricist, performer, choreographer, and educator. She received her MFA in Musical Theatre Writing at New York University’s Tisch School for the Arts, and her BFA in Musical Theatre at East Carolina University. She is a member of the Dramatists Guild, ASCAP, and the recipient of the Dramatists Guild Foundation Grant in 2020. Visit www.lisetteglodowski.com for more. This new album is out now from Brainstorm Records and Yellow Sound Label. Visit www.ClicquotMusical.com for more information. We spoke two weeks ago, with Lisette joining me from North Carolina. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Lisette Glodowski; Ms. Glodowski, good morning. The post Lisette Glodowski first appeared on thecommentary.ca.

The two-time Pulitzer Prize winning editorial cartoonist Mike Luckovich talks about his recent collection The Twisted History of the GOP (ECW Press, 2022), his work that’s appeared in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution since 1989, and more, with Joseph Planta. The Twisted History of the GOP by Mike Luckovich (ECW Press, 2022). Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: The Twisted History of the GOP Text of introduction by Joseph Planta: I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca. Mike Luckovich joins me now. The award-winning editorial cartoonist recently published a collection of his work, The Twisted History of the GOP. It brings together recent work that, as he puts it, highlights the descent of the Republican Party into a fascist, racist, anti-science, pro-conspiracy cult. I’ll ask him why he views it so, and review some of the biting, often funny cartoons he’s drawn over the years, as the once proud, competent counterbalance to the Democratic Party began to change in the 1990s with the rise in influence of Newt Gingrich, Rush Limbaugh, the NRA, and FOX News. Sometimes the cartoons are delightful and playful, and sometimes they’re depressing and leave one with little hope. The twice-impeached conman, former president Donald Trump still remains a vital part of the party, and for some time yet. I’ll ask Mr. Luckovich about how he copes, and how he views his work in the political climate of his country. Mike Luckovich is a Seattle native, who has received two Pulitzer Prizes (1995 and 2006) for his editorial cartoons that have appeared in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution since 1989. His cartoons are reprinted in newspapers across the United States, and have been included in his previous books Four More Wars!, and A Very Stable Genius. In 2005, he received the Reuben Award, presented by the National Cartoonists Society for Cartoonist of the Year. Visit www.mluckovich.com for more, especially if you want to buy signed prints. His Twitter handle is @mluckovichajc. The book is published by ECW Press. We spoke yesterday, with Mike joining me from his home in Atlanta, Georgia. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Mike Luckovich; Mr. Luckovich, good morning. The post Mike Luckovich first appeared on thecommentary.ca.

The historian and artist Henry Tsang discusses his new book White Riot: The 1907 Anti-Asian Riots in Vancouver (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2023), with Joseph Planta. White Riot: The 1907 Anti-Asian Riots in Vancouver by Henry Tsang (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2023). Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: White Riot Text of introduction by Joseph Planta: I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca. On 07 September 1907, thousands gathered in front of Vancouver’s City Hall to protest Asian immigration, then stormed neighbourhoods where many of Chinese and Japanese descent made their homes, Chinatown, and a portion of Powell Street. A 360-degree-video walking tour was created by Henry Tsang, offering a recounting of this historic event, through a series of panoramic photographs following the path of the mob. It’s still available online at www.360riotwalk.ca, and a number of events were held including walking tours, that were also multimedia, using tablets or one’s own phone. A new book, White Riot: The 1907 Anti-Asian Riots in Vancouver, provides the history of the event, as well as visuals used in the walking tour. A number of archival photographs which one could juxtapose to current images, or live if you were doing the walking tour, are colourised, bringing this history to life in some cases. As one sees in the book, there are photographs of people taking the tour, and Henry leading some of the events. A number of those photographs are from 2019, and what makes this book timely and useful, is that it also contains essays that bring us to the present, chronicling the rise of anti-Asian violence during the COVID-19 pandemic. There are essays from historians, activists, and urban planners, including a foreword from Patricia E. Roy. The book comes out next week, and Henry Tsang joins me now to reflect on this walking tour, its legacy, and now this book, and the future, which still includes COVID, and the lingering of prevailing attitudes that make a lot of people in this city still unsafe. Henry Tsang is an artist who explores the spatial politics of history, language, community, food, and community translation in relationship to place. His artwork takes the form of gallery exhibitions, 360-degree video walking tours, curated dinners, and public art. He also teaches at Emily Carr University of Art + Design here in Vancouver. His Twitter handle is @HenryVancouver. This new book is published by Arsenal Pulp Press. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Henry Tsang; Mr. Tsang, good morning. The post Henry Tsang first appeared on thecommentary.ca.

The filmmaker, and former Maclean’s film critic Brian D. Johnson discusses his new documentary The Colour of Ink, a fascinating look at ink, and Toronto inkmaker Jason Logan, with Joseph Planta. Text of introduction by Joseph Planta: I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca. Starting last week, the feature documentary The Colour of Ink has been opening in cities across the country. It opens April 7th 2023 here in Vancouver at the VIFF Centre, and joining me now is its director and producer Brian D. Johnson. The film is a mesmerising and moving look at ink, and the visionary inkmaker Jason Logan, who harvests colours from the natural world: bark, flowers, rocks, rust, weeds, and berries, among other sources. He supplies ink to various artists, including Margaret Atwood, who appears in the film. Mr. Logan’s ink goes around the world too, including the Japanese artist Koji Kakinuma, and what we see in that relationship in particular, is how involved the inkmaker is in the process of creating art, even though he’s half the world away. It’s a compelling film, that makes us look at the outside world a little more reverently, and ponder ink and its uses, not just in the artistic, but the legal, the historical and even the mythical. The film reveals the humanity in life and art, through the artists and artisans featured therein. There were events this past weekend in Toronto featuring Mr. Logan, who I’ll ask Brian about, like what he was like to follow, and what his workspace was like, and how he goes about his work. I’ll also ask Brian about the impetus to make this film, and the travels he and/or his cameras made for it. Brian D. Johnson is a writer, filmmaker and cultural commentator. He is best known for his three decades at Maclean’s magazine, where he was film critic and senior arts writer. He remains a Contributing Editor there. He is the producer and director of the 2015 documentary Al Purdy Was Here. The website for more is at www.nfb.ca. The film is co-produced by Sphinx Productions and the National Film Board of Canada. Please welcome back to the Planta: On the Line program, Brian Johnson; Mr. Johnson, good morning. The post Brian D. Johnson first appeared on thecommentary.ca.

The former senator and cabinet minister the Hon. Jack Austin discusses his new memoir Unlikely Insider: A West Coast Advocate in Ottawa (McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2023), with Joseph Planta. Unlikely Insider: A West Coast Advocate in Ottawa by Jack Austin with Edie Austin (McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2023). Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Unlikely Insider Text of introduction by Joseph Planta: I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca. Jack Austin joins me now. The former senator has recently published a memoir, Unlikely Insider: A West Coast Advocate in Ottawa. He talks in the book of the policy he had a hand in crafting that has guided the Liberal Party going back to the 1960s, when he began as an assistant to the federal cabinet minister Arthur Laing. He served in the cabinets of Pierre Trudeau and Paul Martin, who writes the book’s foreword, and throughout the book, he also gives us sense of the personalities he interacted with, worked with, and met in his time in public life at home and abroad. Pierre Trudeau casts a shadow throughout the book, as it was working as deputy minister in the department of Energy and Mines in the 1970s that led him to serve as chief of staff to Trudeau, in a role that was called principal secretary at the time. We get a sense too of the private Trudeau, as in later years once Trudeau was out of office, Austin accompanied Trudeau on travels around the world. In 1975, Austin was appointed to the Canadian Senate, where he served until 2007 when at 75 he reached mandatory retirement. The book also illustrates Austin’s experiences with various governments including the United States, Mexico, and China, in fact, there’s a lot of reflection at how this relationship with China has evolved, some might say devolved over the last fifty years or more. Jack Austin is also a member of the Order of Canada, and the Order of British Columbia. The book is highly readable and engaging, and is written with Edie Austin, his daughter, who has had over forty years of experience as an editor and writer, who was the former editorial page editor of the Montreal Gazette. This book is published by McGill-Queen’s University Press. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, the Honourable Jack Austin; Mr. Austin, good morning. The post Jack Austin first appeared on thecommentary.ca.

The distinguished poet and writer Robert Bringhurst discusses his new collection of poetry The Ridge (Harbour Publishing, 2023), with Joseph Planta. The Ridge by Robert Bringhurst (Harbour Publishing, 2023). Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: The Ridge Text of introduction by Joseph Planta: I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca. Robert Bringhurst joins me now. The distinguished poet and writer has just published a new collection of poetry, The Ridge. I’ll ask Mr. Bringhurst about the work, the poems therein, and some of the people who they are dedicated to. The collection features poems that are of the ecological past, present, and future of the West Coast of Canada, and they often evoke abstract concepts into tangible and devastating imagery. There are poems in this collection that highlight the emergency of our era, as well as dwell in the beauty of language itself. Words aren’t merely static, rather they are lifelike, alive, and immortal. Robert Bringhurst was initially trained in the sciences at MIT, but made his career in the humanities. He is the recipient of the Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Literary Excellence, a former Guggenheim Fellow, and an Officer of the Order of Canada. He is the recipient of two honorary doctorates. This new book is from Harbour Publishing. He joined me from his home on Quadra Island last week. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Robert Bringhurst; Mr. Bringhurst, good morning. The post Robert Bringhurst first appeared on thecommentary.ca.