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.

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