Featuring Eden Robinson

Explicit content warning

10/25/19 • 27 min

Author, funny woman and busy person Eden Robinson calls into the Cavern from Kitimat, British Columbia to talk nail polish, carting around family in a big car and the gift that menopause gives you. Eden’s books include Traplines, the Giller-nominated Son Of A Trickster, and Blood Sports. Her trilogy, the Trickster series, is becoming a miniseries for CBC and her novel, Monkey Beach, is becoming a film. “If you need stories, take the bus.”

Our favourite moments: “Dad had Parkinson’s. He found that seal fat was very helpful. The cousins who hunted - in the beginning, they would bring us neat little packets of seal...but towards the end, they were just leaving, like, half a seal in a bucket. [5:40]

“He was always embarrassed that I wasn’t a lady. And I was always like, 'You taught me to buck wood and change oil. I don’t remember any tea parties.'" [7:00]

“I find [that] if I try to write to an outline or if I write to a plan, my muse gets inhibited.” [14:14]

“I was realizing how few years I have left if I’m writing a book about every five years. Okay, there are books I won’t be able to write.” [21:30]

"I also don’t have a lot of anxiety about what people think about me. I remember being very concerned about that. And them menopause just wipes that out.” [22:40]

CREDITS: Cavern of Secrets is hosted by Lauren Mitchell. Produced by Ellen Payne Smith & Katie Jensen, with assistance from Vicky Mochama and Sarah Daniel.

“He was always embarrassed that I wasn’t a lady. And I was always like, 'You taught me to buck wood and change oil. I don’t remember any tea parties.'" [7:00]

“I find [that] if I try to write to an outline or if I write to a plan, my muse gets inhibited.” [14:14]

“I was realizing how few years I have left if I’m writing a book about every five years. Okay, there are books I won’t be able to write.” [21:30]

"I also don’t have a lot of anxiety about what people think about me. I remember being very concerned about that. And them menopause just wipes that out.” [22:40]

CREDITS: Cavern of Secrets is hosted by Lauren Mitchell. Produced by Ellen Payne Smith & Katie Jensen, with assistance from Vicky Mochama and Sarah Daniel.

Previous Episode

Featuring Carly Lewis

Carly Lewis, journalist, kind woman and spectacular human being, joins host Lauren Mitchell in the Cavern. Carly has written for the Globe and Mail, New York Magazine, the Atlantic, Hazlitt and more. She talks about the value of feeling isolated, getting away from your anger and making sure your parents drink water. “I feel like everybody has a little invisible suitcase with them and in that suitcase is their anger.”

Our favourite moments: “You should strive to be the person you needed when you were younger.” [3:27]

“I had to learn how to feel safe in myself. And that was a hard-fought lesson.” [7:40]

“It was also really important to me to be a strong loner.” [8:45]

“Anytime I have made a platform for myself that is based on anger or taking up space to be vocal about sexual assault or harassment or anything like that, I have left that space feeling tremendously guilty.” [9:20]

“I feel like everybody has a little invisible suitcase with them and in that suitcase is their anger.” [11:17]

“Now that I’ve gotten more powerful just by virtue of getting older, I’m less angry. Even though there’s so much to be angry about, but I’m not walking around the world furious in the way that I kind of used to be.” [12:35]

This is when I learned to ask for forgiveness, not permission: When I asked my mom if i could sleep over in an orchard in Grimsby Ontario with a bunch of boys and my mom was, like, absolutely-the-fuck-not.” [15:35]

“I’ve stopped thinking about happiness as a state or a promised land or a quest. I’ve started thinking about it as a fog that just kind of comes or goes away...” [22:30]

“Something out there does not want me to have a stable place to live...Something out there wants me to get used to be transient.” [26:45]

CREDITS: Cavern of Secrets is hosted by Lauren Mitchell. Produced by Ellen Payne Smith & Katie Jensen, with assistance from Vicky Mochama and Sarah Daniel.

Next Episode

Featuring Haviah Mighty

Haviah Mighty drops by the Cavern after a big win: She’s the winner of the 2019 Polaris Prize for the album, 13th floor. Lauren and Haviah get into how to work with a producer, writing for discomfort, and using your voice as an instrument. “My approach is to open up minds so that the ignorance won’t be so wilful.”

Our favourite moments: “I’m talking about these themes that can constitute discomfort, depending on what the listener looks like. My intention when giving the information is for there to be a dialogue based on the information.” [4:30]

“When you say ‘I don’t see color,’ you’re dismissing all of the people that do... My approach is to open up minds so that the ignorance won’t be so wilful” [7:05]

“I’m not DIY in the ‘I want to do everything myself way’; I’m DIY in the ‘I want my input to be considered way.” [10:19]

“I was listening to the new Da Baby record...He has a cool energy.” [14:28]

“You can pull inspiration from anywhere” [15:25]

“I’m very into music. I have a great ear. I feel like I know enough about how things sound to know what notes I can’t hit...” [17:26]

“I took one hip-hop class and I wasn’t even the best one! I just know that I don’t consider myself to be a dance so it’s funny when people are like, “You’re such a good dancer.” [18:55]

“[My sisters] are just really talented people. Involving them just makes the most sense.” [20:00]

“I don’t have to be as critical of being a good music because my standards are really high.” [25:08]

“My competitiveness, my musicality? That’s kind of instilled.” [26:12]

Haviah Mighty's 2019 tour is coming to Halifax (October 26), Mississauga (October 27), Edmonton (November 7), Calgary (November 8), and Brampton (November 30). Tour dates can be found on her site.

CREDITS: Cavern of Secrets is hosted by Lauren Mitchell. Produced by Ellen Payne Smith & Katie Jensen, with assistance from Vicky Mochama and Sarah Daniel.