Page Fright: A Literary Podcast

Tolu Oloruntoba returns to chat about his third poetry collection, Unravel. Andrew asks about getting "good" feedback. It's a "good" one!--Tolu Oloruntoba was born in Ibadan, Nigeria, where he studied and practiced medicine. He is the author of three collections of poetry, The Junta of Happenstance, winner of the Canadian Griffin Poetry Prize and Governor General’s Literary Award, Each One a Furnace, a Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize finalist, and most recently, Unravel.--Andrew French is a poet from North Vancouver, British Columbia. They have published three chapbooks, most recently Buoyhood (forthcoming with Alfred Gustav Press, 2025). Andrew holds a BA in English from Huron University College at Western University and an MA in English from UBC. They write poems, book reviews, and have hosted this very podcast since 2019.

Marc Perez comes on the show to talk about chapbooks, form, and his debut full-length poetry collection, Dayo. Andrew asks about finding the right form for your poem. It's a great time!--Chapbook launch info: Featuring Marc Perez , Andrew French, and Kevin Spenst! See you on Saturday, April 19, 5pm at the Teck Gallery SFU Harbour Centre, Vancouver.--Marc Perez is the author of Dayo (Brick Books, 2024) and the chapbook, Domus (Anstruther Press, 2025). His work has appeared in The Fiddlehead, EVENT, CV2, PRISM international, and Vallum, among others. In his free time, he likes to wander with his camera and document fleeting moments around the city.--Andrew French is a poet from North Vancouver, British Columbia. They have published three chapbooks, most recently Buoyhood (forthcoming with Alfred Gustav Press, 2025). Andrew holds a BA in English from Huron University College at Western University and an MA in English from UBC. They write poems, book reviews, and have hosted this very podcast since 2019.

MA|DE (Mark Laliberte & Jade Wallace) pop by to talk about their debut collaborative full-length poetry collection, ZZOO. Andrew tries to wrap their head around writing with another person. It's a fun one!--Subscribe to get Andrew's 3rd chapbook, Buoyhood, at this link and come to the launch alongside chapbooks from Marc Perez and Kevin Spenst! April 19, 5pm, Teck Gallery SFU Harbour Centre, Vancouver.--MA|DE (est. 2018) is a collaborative writing entity, a unity of two voices fused into a single, poetic third. It is the name given to the joint authorship of Mark Laliberte and Jade Wallace. MA|DE's published work comprises 4 chapbooks, including the bpNichol Award-shortlisted A Trip to the ZZOO from Collusion Books, and debut full-length poetry collection, ZZOO (released with 5 variant animal-themed covers), out now from Palimpsest Press. Their follow-up book, Detourism, is forthcoming in 2028. More: ma-de.ca--Andrew French is a poet from North Vancouver, British Columbia. They have published three chapbo

Annick MacAskill is back to talk compiling her latest collection, Votive (Gaspereau Press). Andrew asks about book length and queer poems. It's a good one!--Annick MacAskill is the author of four full-length books of poetry, including Shadow Blight (Gaspereau Press, 2022), which won the Governor General's Award. Her most recent collection is Votive (Gaspereau Press, 2024). She is also the publisher of Opaat Press, a micropress focused on publishing pamphlets of individual poems. MacAskill lives in Kjipuktuk (Halifax, Nova Scotia), on the traditional and unceded territory of the Mi'kmaq. --Andrew French is a poet from North Vancouver, British Columbia. They have published three chapbooks, most recently Buoyhood (forthcoming with Alfred Gustav Press, 2025). Andrew holds a BA in English from Huron University College at Western University and an MA in English from UBC. They write poems, book reviews, and have hosted this very podcast since 2019.

Aislinn Hunter joins Andrew to talk about editing Best Canadian Poetry 2025. Four featured poets read their poems from the anthology. Andrew asks about the monumental task of editing BCP25 and poetry more generally. It’s a fun one! -- Aislinn Hunter is an award-winning novelist and poet and the author of eight highly acclaimed books including the novels ’The Certainties’ – a bestseller shortlisted for the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize – and ‘The World Before Us’ – a NYT Editor’s Choice book, a Guardian and NPR Book the Year, and winner of the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize. Her work has been adapted into music, dance, art, and film forms ¬– including a feature film based on her novel ‘Stay’ which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. Hunter’s three poetry collections (‘Into the Early Hours,’ ’The Possible Past,’ and ‘Linger, Still’) have been shortlisted for the Pat Lowther Award, the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize, and the ReLit Prize, and have won the Gerald Lampert Award and the Fred Cogswell Award

Rob Madden joins Andrew to discuss grief and masculinity, writing alongside photography, and his chapbook second hand smoke (Pinhole Poetry, 2024). It’s a rich discussion! -- Rob Madden is a writer living on the traditional and unceded territories of the Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh nations in the City of North Vancouver, BC. His chapbook second hand smoke was published in 2024 by Pinhole Poetry, and has had work published in Grain, Prairie Fire, SubTerrain and other literary magazines. He holds a certificate in Creative Writing from the Writer’s Studio at SFU from 2005. -- Andrew French is a poet from North Vancouver, British Columbia. They have published three chapbooks, most recently Buoyhood (forthcoming with Alfred Gustav Press, 2025). Andrew holds a BA in English from Huron University College at Western University and an MA in English from UBC. They write poems, book reviews, and have hosted this very podcast since 2019.

Anita Lahey drops by to record an episode, live at the Fraser Valley Writer’s Festival! Andrew asks about birds, finding anthology editors, and Anita’s latest poetry collection, While Supplies Last. It's a fun lil’ convo! -- Anita Lahey’s latest poetry collection, While Supplies Last, was published by Véhicule Press in 2023. She’s also co-author, with Pauline Conley, of the 2023 graphic novel-in-verse Fire Monster (Palimpsest Press). Her 2020 memoir, The Last Goldfish: a True Tale of Friendship (Biblioasis), was an Ottawa Book Award finalist. A longtime magazine journalist and occasional ghost writer, Anita also serves as series editor for the Best Canadian Poetry anthology. She is grateful to live with her family in Ottawa on unceded Algonquin, Anishinabek territory. -- Andrew French is a poet from North Vancouver, British Columbia. They have published three chapbooks, most recently Buoyhood (forthcoming with Alfred Gustav Press, 2025). Andrew holds a BA in English from Huron University College at Western Un

The 100th episode(!) of Page Fright, in which Andrew hosts a live reading featuring four poets (Estlin McPhee, Kyle McKillop, Jane Shi, and Rob Taylor) at Massy Arts Society to celebrate 5 years and 100 episodes of poetry interviews! The poets share their writing with the audience, and Andrew gets overwhelmed! -- Estlin McPhee is a writer and librarian who lives on the traditional territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples. Estlin holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia and is the author of the poetry chapbook Shapeshifters (Rahila’s Ghost Press, 2018). Their writing has appeared in journals across North America; for many years, they co-organized REVERB, a queer reading series in Vancouver. Estlin's debut poetry collection In Your Nature is forthcoming in spring 2025 with Brick Books. Kyle McKillop is a poet and teacher who completed his MFA in creative writing at UBC. His poems have appeared in CV2, tuesday poem, English Practice, the Sustenance antholo

Lauren Peat comes onto the show to talk about her first poetry chapbook, Future Tense. Andrew asks about ending poems with questions. It's a curious chat! -- DETAILS: Lauren's Vancouver chapbook launch, hosted by Andrew! -- Lauren Peat is a writer, translator, and teacher. Her poems and translations have appeared in journals such as Arc Poetry Magazine, Asymptote, No Tokens, The Malahat Review, and World Literature Today. Her writing, in both English and French, is also featured in the repertoire of acclaimed vocal ensembles across North America. Translation Editor for the poetry magazine Volume, she lives in Vancouver and works in public education. -- Andrew French is a poet from North Vancouver, British Columbia. They have published three chapbooks, most recently Buoyhood (forthcoming with Alfred Gustav Press, 2025). Andrew holds a BA in English from Huron University College at Western University and an MA in English from UBC. They write poems, book reviews, and have hosted this very podcast since 2019.

Jim Johnstone joins the show to discuss his new poetry anthology celebrating 10 years of Anstruther Press, The Anstruther Reader. Andrew asks about chapbooks, full-lengths, and turning off "editor brain." It's an informative chat! -- REGISTER: PAGE FRIGHT LIVE! AT THE FRASER VALLEY WRITER'S FESTIVAL -- Jim Johnstone is a Toronto-based poet, editor, and critic. He is the author of seven collections of poetry, most recently The King of Terrors (Coach House Books, 2023), as well as a collection of essays titled Bait & Switch (The Porcupine's Quill, 2024). Johnstone is a senior editor at Palimpsest Press, where he recently published The Anstruther Reader: Ten Years of Poems, Broadsides, and Manifestos. -- Andrew French is a poet from North Vancouver, British Columbia. They have published three chapbooks, most recently Buoyhood (forthcoming with Alfred Gustav Press, 2025). Andrew holds a BA in English from Huron University College at Western University and an MA in English from UBC. They write poems, book revi

Manahil Bandukwala pops into the Zoom studio to talk about her second poetry collection, Heliotropia. Andrew admits to never seeing Star Trek and plans to jump in midway through, just to understand a poem. It's an episode blooming with great poems! -- Manahil Bandukwala is a writer and visual artist based in Ottawa and Mississauga, Ontario. She is the author of Heliotropia (Brick Books, 2024) and MONUMENT (Brick Books, 2022), which was shortlisted for the 2023 Gerald Lampert Award, and was selected as a Writer’s Trust of Canada Rising Star in 2023. See her work at manahilbandukwala.com. -- Andrew French is a poet from North Vancouver, British Columbia. They have published three chapbooks, most recently Buoyhood (forthcoming with Alfred Gustav Press, 2025). Andrew holds a BA in English from Huron University College at Western University and an MA in English from UBC. They write poems, book reviews, and have hosted this very podcast since 2019.

Natasha Ramoutar is back to talk about her new poetry collection, Baby Cerberus. Andrew emphasizes the fun they've had writing lately. It's truly a fun one! -- Natasha Ramoutar is a writer of Indo-Guyanese descent from Toronto. Her debut collection of poetry, Bittersweet, published in 2020 by Mawenzi House, was shortlisted for the Gerald Lampert Memorial Award. She was the co-editor of Feel Ways, an anthology of Scarborough literature. She is a senior editor with Augur Magazine and serves on the editorial board at Wolsak and Wynn. Her second collection of poetry Baby Cerberus will be released October, 2024. -- Andrew French (they/them) is an author from North Vancouver, British Columbia. They have published three chapbooks, most recently Buoyhood (forthcoming with Alfred Gustav Press, 2025). Andrew holds a BA in English from Huron University College at Western University and an MA in English from UBC. They write poems, book reviews, and have hosted this very podcast since 2019.

Amanda Merpaw drops in to talk about her debut poetry collection, Most of All the Wanting. Andrew asks about poetry as a queer art form. It's a great time! -- Attend Page Fright: A Poetry Reading & Celebration (Sept 20 6-8pm at Massy Arts Society in Vancouver) -- Amanda Merpaw (she/her) is a writer, editor, and translator. She is the author of the chapbook Put the Ghosts Down Between Us (2021), and her writing has appeared in Arc Poetry Magazine, carte blanche, CV2, Grain, Prairie Fire, Plenitude, with Playwrights Canada Press, and elsewhere. Amanda has been a finalist for the Poem of the Year Contest and the Montreal Fiction Prize. She is currently a contributing editor at Arc Poetry Magazine and a member of the editorial board at Anstruther Press. Most of All the Wanting is her first full-length collection. -- Andrew French (they/them) is an author from North Vancouver, British Columbia. They have published two chapbooks, Poems for Different Yous (Rose Garden Press, 2021) and Do Not Discard Ashes (8

Hannah Siden zooms in to discuss writing tips and movement poetry! Andrew talks about moving from the journal to a computer and back again. It's a fun chat! -- Hannah Siden is a writer and filmmaker living on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations (Vancouver, BC). Her poetry has been published in PRISM International, Canthius, Room Magazine, The League of Canadian Poets, Metatron Press and elsewhere. She can be found online at https://www.hannahsiden.com.  -- Andrew French is an author from North Vancouver, British Columbia. They have published two chapbooks, Poems for Different Yous (Rose Garden Press, 2021) and Do Not Discard Ashes (845 Press, 2020). Andrew holds a BA in English from Huron University College at Western University and an MA in English from UBC. They write poems, book reviews, and host this very podcast

Patrick Connors joins the podcast to talk about his second poetry collection, The Long Defeat. Andrew asks about keeping things light. It's a wide-ranging discussion! -- Patrick Connors' first chapbook, Scarborough Songs, was released by Lyricalmyrical Press in 2013, and charted on the Toronto Poetry Map. Other publication credits include: The Toronto Quarterly; Spadina Literary Review; Sharing Spaces; Tamaracks; and Tending the Fire. His first full collection, The Other Life, was released in 2021 by Mosaic Press. His new chapbook, Worth the Wait, was released in 2023 by Cactus Press. His second full collection, The Long Defeat, is newly released by Mosaic Press. -- Andrew French is an author from North Vancouver, British Columbia. They have published two chapbooks, Poems for Different Yous (Rose Garden Press, 2021) and Do Not Discard Ashes (845 Press, 2020). Andrew holds a BA in English from Huron University College at Western University and an MA in English from UBC. They write poems, book reviews,

Matthew Walsh comes back on the podcast with a new book: Terrarium. Andrew re-learns how to start writing poems. It's a good one!--Matthew Walsh grew up in Nova Scotia and now lives in Toronto. Their poems have appeared in Joyland, the Capra Review, the Antigonish Review, the Malahat Review, and Geist; in a chapbook entitled ICQ; and in their celebrated book-length collection These are not the potatoes of my youth, a finalist for the Trillium and Gerald Lampert Awards. -- Andrew French is an author from North Vancouver, British Columbia. They have published two chapbooks, Poems for Different Yous (Rose Garden Press, 2021) and Do Not Discard Ashes (845 Press, 2020). Andrew holds a BA in English from Huron University College at Western University and an MA in English from UBC. They write poems, book reviews, and host this very podcast.

Kevin Spenst is back to talk about his latest poetry collection, A Bouquet Brought Back from Space. Andrew celebrates 5 years of Page Fright. Everyone's thinking about words!-- Kevin Spenst is the author of sixteen chapbooks and three full-length books of poetry plus his newest collection A Bouquet Brought Back from Space (Anvil Press, 2024). He is one of the organizers of the Dead Poets Reading Series, has a chapbook review column for subTerrain magazine, occasionally co-hosts Wax Poetic on Vancouver Co-op Radio, and teaches poetry through The Writer’s Studio at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver on unceded xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səl̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) territory where he cohabitates with the one and only Cheryl Rossi.  -- Andrew French is an author from North Vancouver, British Columbia. They have published two chapbooks, Poems for Different Yous (Rose Garden Press, 2021) and Do Not Discard Ashes (845 Press, 2020). Andrew holds a BA in English from Huron University

Rob Taylor is back to talk about his new book, Weather. Rob Taylor is the author of five collections of poetry, including Strangers and The News, which was a finalist for the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize. He is also the editor of What the Poets Are Doing: Canadian Poets in Conversation and Best Canadian Poetry 2019. He lives with his family in Port Moody, BC. -- Andrew French is an author from North Vancouver, British Columbia. They have published two chapbooks, Poems for Different Yous (Rose Garden Press, 2021) and Do Not Discard Ashes (845 Press, 2020). Andrew holds a BA in English from Huron University College at Western University and an MA in English from UBC. They write poems, book reviews, and host this very podcast.

-- Rhea Tregebov is the acclaimed author of eight collections of poetry. Her most recent, Talking to Strangers, was published by Signal Editions/Véhicule Press in April 2024. She has also published two award-winning novels, Rue des Rosiers (2019) and The Knife Sharpener’s Bell (2009). Tregebov served as Chair of the Writers’ Union of Canada from 2021 to 2023. Born in Saskatoon and raised in Winnipeg, she now lives and writes in Vancouver, where she is Associate Professor Emerita at the School of Creative Writing at UBC. -- Andrew French is an author from North Vancouver, British Columbia. They have published two chapbooks, Poems for Different Yous (Rose Garden Press, 2021) and Do Not Discard Ashes (845 Press, 2020). Andrew holds a BA in English from Huron University College at Western University and an MA in English from UBC. They write poems, book reviews, and host this very podcast.

Matt Rader returns to talk about his second poetry collection, Fine. Andrew wonders about the beauty in the struggle. Everybody leaves a bit lighter! -- Details on Matt's Vancouver launch here. Details on the Dead Poets Reading Series event here. -- Matt Rader is an award-winning author of six volumes of poetry, a collection of stories and a book of nonfiction. His previous book of poems, Ghosthawk (2021), was shortlisted for the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize. He teaches Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia Okanagan and lives in Kelowna, BC. -- Andrew French is an author from North Vancouver, British Columbia. They have published two chapbooks, Poems for Different Yous (Rose Garden Press, 2021) and Do Not Discard Ashes (845 Press, 2020). Andrew holds a BA in English from Huron University College at Western University and an MA in English from UBC. They write poems, book reviews, and host this very podcast.