The writer Alexander MacLeod discusses his new collection of short fiction Animal Person (McClelland & Stewart, 2022), with Joseph Planta.

Animal Person by Alexander MacLeod (McClelland & Stewart, 2022). Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Animal Person

Text of introduction of Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.

Alexander MacLeod joins me now. He’s just published a new collection of short fiction, Animal Person. This book comes out on the heels of one of the stories therein being excerpted by the New Yorker magazine to great acclaim, which I asked him about. The book itself has been released to great notices, and I’ll get Alexander to reflect on how the stories came about, like what inspires some of the stories. The collection is described as startling, suspenseful, and deeply humane. The stories themselves are often gripping, and I found them concerned with people and their desire for connection, whether its others, sometimes those closest to them physically or emotionally, or sometimes people who just want to connect with themselves and their identity. Alexander MacLeod’s previous book, his debut collection Light Lifting was a national bestseller, the recipient of the Atlantic Book Award, and a finalist for the Giller Prize, and the Commonwealth Book Prize, among many other accolades. In 2019, he received the O. Henry Award for his story “Lagomorph,” which opens this collection, and was originally published in Granta. He holds degrees from the University of Windsor, Notre Dame, and McGill. He teaches at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, and joined me from his home in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, this past weekend. This new book is published by McClelland & Stewart. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Alexander MacLeod; Professor MacLeod, good morning.

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