Episode 9 | Liz Howard

Parallel Careers

“I certainly see the plasticity and the infinite possibilities there are within language as a way to expand the limits of the, the quote unquote world and a way to dream of another world where liberation is possible. And to try and, in some way, approach it in language as a way of possibly immanentizing it. Some people might think that's sort of anarchical or utopian, but I think that one needs the audacity to be able to dream of these things. And that is what I'm trying to do in language.”

In this episode, Liz Howard shares her thoughts on the expansiveness of poetry and how it can be used as a tool for exploration, experimentation and interpretation:

She discusses:

1:22 | how an old copy of Macbeth entrained her ear to the rhythm of language

3:47 | coming to see her writing as a conversation with the ancestral realm

5:00 | using enjambment to interrupt anecdotal poems in her first collection Infinite Citizen of the Shaking Tent, inviting the reader to pay closer attention

9:12 | invoking both Western astrophysical science and cosmology, as well as Indigenous, specifically Anishinaabe, sky knowledge in Letters in a Bruised Cosmos

11:14 | scavenging and thrifting language to produce a sort of haunting or a kind of echo within the text and how that resonates with her work in cognitive psychology

16:16 | adapting one of Dionne Brand’s writing exercises in her own classroom, inviting students to consider a sight of astonishment, an earliest memory and a moment of self-awareness

19:11 | her work at Inkwell and developing prompts from existing poems to explore situated-ness

Guest Bio:

Liz Howard’s debut collection Infinite Citizen of the Shaking Tent won the 2016 Griffin Poetry Prize, was shortlisted for the 2015 Governor General’s Award for poetry, and was named a Globe and Mail top 100 book. A National Magazine Award finalist, her recent work has appeared in Canadian Literature, Literary Review of Canada, Room Magazine and Best Canadian Poetry 2021. Her second collection, Letters in a Bruised Cosmos, was published by McClelland & Stewart in June 2021. Howard received an Honours Bachelor of Science with High Distinction from the University of Toronto, and an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Guelph. She has completed creative writing and Indigenous arts residencies at McGill University, University of Calgary, UBC Okanagan, Douglas College, Sheridan College, and The Capilano Review. She is also an adjunct professor and lecturer in the Department of English at the University of Toronto and serves on the editorial board for Buckrider Books, an imprint of Wolsak & Wynn. She is of mixed settler and Anishinaabe heritage. Born and raised on Treaty 9 territory in Northern Ontario, she currently lives in Toronto.

About the Podcast:

Parallel Careers is a monthly podcast about the dual lives of writers who teach.

Few writers make their living from publication alone; many fill the gaps with teaching in both academic and community settings. Much of the work is precarious, and there are few opportunities for professional development.

Parallel Careers features writers with diverse practices and points of view—writers who are at the top of their game in both craft and pedagogy. Tune in to hear the big ideas and practical tips they take into their classrooms. Take their insights into your own class or craft.

Credits:

Parallel Careers is produced by Claire Tacon, in partnership with The New Quarterly magazine. Erin MacIndoe Sproule is our Technical Producer and Story Editor. Music composed by Amadeo Ventura. Financial and in-kind support provided by the Region of Waterloo Arts Fund, St. Jerome’s University, and the Government of Canada.