Canadian writer Anne Carson is the winner of this year’s Nobel Prize in Literature. For today’s podcast, we’re diving into the archives and revisiting one of Anne’s conversations with Eleanor Wachtel on Writers & Company. Anne Carson is celebrated for poems and essays that defy the boundaries of genre. She frequently blends ancient Greek myth with modern stories of love, grief and desire. Anne spoke with Eleanor in 2011 about her book Nox — which means night. Combining poetry, letters, photographs and sketches, the book is an elegy to her brother … and a moving reflection on family and absence.

If you want to hear more from the archives of Writers & Company, the show’s entire catalogue is available on Simon Fraser University’s Digitized Collections website: https://digital.lib.sfu.ca/writers-company

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How far would you be willing to go to salvage a friendship? Maybe you just need a small break ... or how about a couples therapist? Téa Mutonji’s new novel, My Person, follows longtime friends Tania and Margot. The two have been friends since childhood, but after living together for a year, Tania realizes she's not sure if she even likes Margot anymore. But leaving is not just as simple as saying goodbye, and a messy, complicated, will-they-won’t-they friendship breakup ensues. This week, Téa joins Mattea Roach to talk about her 2 a.m. writing habits, the push and pull of long-lasting friendships and when it might be time to break up with your best friend.

Liked this conversation? Keep listening:

• Can our friendships age with us?
• NOT CLICKBAIT! She stole her dead twin sister’s identity!?

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Imagine the pressure of being the only woman working on an offshore oil rig. That was the reality for Y.M. Abdel-Magied … and she turned her years in the field into a thrilling novel about oil, power and survival on the water. At Sea follows Zainab, a toolpusher who is tasked with leading an all-male drilling crew on an oil rig off the coast of Australia. As Zainab navigates the complicated power dynamics of her role, she begins to uncover signs of catastrophe that could devastate the ocean around her and threaten the lives of everyone on the rig. This week, Y.M. joins Mattea Roach to talk about her experience working on rigs, writing a nuanced story about oil and how everything started with her love of racecar driving.

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• A raunchy workplace satire ... about deradicalizing ISIS brides?
• Would a tradwife influencer survive in 1855?

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Anita Rau Badami’s new novel, Asha in Her Garden, is her first in over a decade … and it all started with the striking image of a dying tree. On her seventieth birthday, Asha Mohan’s beloved backyard maple tree is cut down. As she watches it disappear, Asha begins to look differently at the life she’s spent years building. From her move to Canada from India, to the trials of raising her children to an act of violence that changed the family forever, Asha’s garden becomes a space for her to reflect on how she built her family and where she can go now. This week, Anita joins Mattea Roach to talk about the real tree that inspired the book, the maze of memory and a character called “The Hag.”

Liked this conversation? Keep listening:

• Why writing a novel is like riding a horse
• What does dystopia look like in the suburbs?

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Imagine you walk into your bedroom one day … and there’s a horse going on a rampage. Better yet, it’s a horse from a childhood story that has haunted you ever since you first heard it. Who’s the first person you call? In Ali Smith’s new novel, Glyph, estranged sisters Petra and Patch are brought back together when a story from their childhood comes to life in an incredible way. But what makes a ghost story real? And what can it tell us about the world we live in now? This week, Ali joins Mattea Roach to talk about her connection to horses, the power and wonder of words and whether or not she believes in ghosts.

Liked this conversation? Keep listening:

• For Jeanette Winterson, stories are essential to survival
• How do we restore our sense of wonder in media?

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For cheating couples who are sneaking around, it’s paradise … but how long until the cracks start to show? Sophie Mackintosh’s new novel, Permanence, follows secret lovers Clara and Francis. Francis is married, and they’ve been stealing brief moments with each other for months. When they wake up one day in a dreamy city where they don’t have to hide, everything seems perfect … until things take a sinister turn and Clara and Francis realize they can’t escape the real world forever. This week, Sophie joins Mattea Roach to talk about the new era of infidelity literature, writing about unsavoury love and where passion and desire can take you.

Liked this conversation? Keep listening:

• Life of Pi author Yann Martel on the wars in your everyday
• Why you can’t forget your first love

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How many of your friends are over 30 years older than you? When Marc Bendavid was 12, he met a teacher that changed his life. His debut novel, The Sapling, is about their generation-defying bond … and living in those memories in the wake of her death. So how can a meaningful friendship between a 12 year-old and a 44 year-old defy what we think about the gap between generations? And how does someone live and change through our memories of them? This week, Marc joins Mattea Roach to talk about the real teacher that inspired the book, the beauty of aging and what you can gain from connecting with people older and younger than you.

Liked this conversation? Keep listening:

• Can our friendships age with us?
• Ocean Vuong finds beauty in a fast food shift

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The phrase "unprecedented times” was repeated over and over again during the pandemic … and Malavika Kannan’s debut novel, Unprecedented Times, dives into university life during that period. The story follows Rishi, an Indian American student who’s ready to start fresh at Stanford after her strict Florida upbringing. She has big plans to shed her old skin and finally meet people just like her, but that journey is cut short by the arrival of COVID-19. As Rishi and her peers struggle with disillusionment, political unrest and good old university drama, she starts to think more closely about her story and the shared experience that’s shaping her generation.

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• Here’s what you have wrong about teen moms
• Would a tradwife influencer survive in 1855?

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