It's the "loosen your belt and tuck in" edition, as Shelagh loads her plate with great food writing. Bal Arneson helps Shelagh Rogers make the perfect rotis, and tells stories about her childhood in a small village in India. Bal's the author of Everyday Indian. David Sax explains why the smoked meat sandwich is the national food of Canada, and the delicatessen needs to be saved as an institution. (His book is Save the Deli.) And Itah Sadu offers Austin Clarke and Olive Senior up as two of Canada's most delicious literary writers for the food in their works. Chef Michael Smith reflects on how recipes fit into the world of literature, Diana Braithwaite dishes on her reading habits, and Devin Connell and Linda Haynes explain why they combined their different styles into a single cookbook: Two Dishes. Susur Lee dismisses reading for pleasure, and we tempt your tastebuds with a bit of Farley Mowat's recipe for Creamed Mice.

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Catherine Gildiner joined Shelagh Rogers on stage in Burlington, Ontario to entertain the crowd with stories from her teenage life, the subject of her second memoir, After the Falls. It's the follow-up to Too Close to the Falls.

Also on the show, W. Paul Young talks about growing up in Guinea with missionary parents. Paul has written a multi-million-selling book of personal wisdom called The Shack. Randy Boyagoda reviews the novel Border Songs by Jim Lynch, and Wendy Morton talks about her most important poetry project ever, called What Were Their Dreams.

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Lorna Crozier grew up poor in Swift Current, Saskatchewan, and later became one of Canada's best-known poets. Lorna writes about her upbringing and particularly her tough-and-tender mom in a memoir called Small Beneath the Sky. Jane Christmas recalls her extraordinary trip to Italy with her mother, a journey that was supposed to lead to a renaissance in their difficult relationship. Jane's travel memoir is called Incontinent on the Continent. Andreas Schroeder describes his strict Mennonite father, and Ariel Gordon starts a project to photograph the hands of Canadian authors.

Posted by Tom Howell at 10:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)