A Ghost Story Without Ghosts: Jenny Haysom's Keep

Getting Lit with Linda - The Canadian Literature Podcast

In this episode, Linda converses with Jenny Haysom (2.48) about her novel Keep (published by Anansi). Featuring three main characters, the narrative is driven by the conflict that emerges when Harriet, an elderly poet, is diagnosed with the onset of dementia and must face selling her house -- and the two home stagers, Eleanor and Jacob, tasked with emptying it of its contents. Both Eleanor and Jacob are drawn into Harriet's world and the questions around what we keep, what we throw away, and what we value and why. It becomes clear why Haysom refers to this Victorian-esque novel as "a ghost story without ghosts."

The discussion also turns toward Haysom's literary debut as a poet and her collection Dividing the Wayside (4.15, published by Palimpsest Press) and the difference between writing poetry and writing novels (4.32).

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