Re-Creative: A podcast about inspiration and creativity

Joe and Mark are joined by Karina Bates, a potter from Omemee, Ontario. Karina takes the lads through a quick tour of what it’s like the throw pots and other ceramics on the wheel. Her work tends to be functional and purposeful. “It’s a nice feeling to have people hold up a cup you’ve made and say they enjoy having their coffee in it,” says Karina. On the bottom of every piece, Karina leaves her "...

Mark and Joe jump around in time with Nebula and Hugo-Award winning author Robert Charles Wilson. Written in the late 1800s, The Time Machine is one of the first books of science fiction that Robert Charles Wilson discovered. "It was obviously the work of someone who was intellectually engaged with the big discoveries of the late 19th century," says Robert. Particularly what science was learning a...

Joe and Mark are joined by visual artist Gerard Pas to discuss the work of Greg Curnoe. Gerard was born in The Netherlands and immigrated to Canada with his parents when he was a boy. When he was a teen, he moved back to Holland, where he steeped himself in the Dutch masters and launched his career in art. Greg Curnoe was a huge influence on Gerard; both artists made London, Ontario their homes. A...

Mark and Joe talk to poet Penn Kemp about fellow poets Harold Rhenish, Sharon Thesen, and others, and how they work in collaboration. They start with Penn’s roots in visual arts – her father was the well-regarded London painter Jim Kemp – and how it became poetry, not painting, that sparked her muse. Penn, Joe and Mark then get into a fascinating discussion about poetry, song lyrics, Leonard Cohen...

On today's episode Joe and Mark talk to author Benoit Chartier about the anime film Akira. They begin with one of Mark's questions: what piece of technology frightens you? Benoit admits he isn't frightened by it, but he's annoyed by ChatGPT and other AI techs, because it may flood the market with crap books. After which they discuss one of Benoit's favorite pieces of art, the 1988 anime cyberpunk...

Joe and Mark join Brian Wyvill, professor of computer science, computer graphics pioneer, rock climber, mountain climber, author and amateur musician (and Joe's brother-in-law) to talk about Ludwig van Beethoven's Adagio from Sonata Pathétique and how it's featured in his writing. They also discuss software he's developing to help writers, and top the conversation off with Brian's story of how he...

Joe and Mark join Matt Watts, writer, comedian and actor to discuss the classic radio series The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (HHGTG). That’s right, before it was a book or a movie, the Douglas Adams classic was a radio series on the BBC. They get into the nature of writing. What it’s like working on long-form prose after spending a career writing jokes and scripts. How fun it is to fly by the...

To launch Joe's new book Adventures in the Radio Trade, Mark and Joe talk to two of Joe's former CBC Radio colleagues Trish Thornton and Greg DeClute. Trish worked on Morningside for many years and Greg worked with Joe in Radio Drama and on The Vinyl Cafe. In this fun, spontaneous and (as you will hear) completely unedited conversation, you'll get a behind-the-scenes glimpse of what it was like wo...

Mark and Joe talk to Frank Faulk about Mr. Joy and Woe himself, William Blake. They take a deep dive into what Blake's poetry, particularly his Songs of Innocence and of Experience, did to Faulk's view of life, the world and creation.  Find out more about this episode at https://re-creative.ca/songs-of-innocence-and-of-experience/ (don't forget the hyphens!) Re-Creative is a co-production of...

Mark and Joe talk to Quebec author, Michèle Laframboise, about the novel that got her writing science fiction, Grass , by Sheri S. Tepper. Find out more about this episode at https://re-creative.ca/grass/ Re-Creative is a co-production of Donovan Street Press Inc. in association with Mark A. Rayner. Contact us at: joemahoney@donovanstreetpress.com  

This episode of Re-Creative is a first for the show as Joe and Mark host two guests at the same time. Celu Amberstone and Paula Johanson, both writers and educators with a love of the natural world. They both live in British Columbia.  In a fascinating and evocative conversation, Paula and Celu explain how maps and music inspire their works of fiction.   "Tribal music tells me about the...

This week writer and encyclopedist David Perlmutter takes Mark and Joe on a deep dive into the history of cartoons. Find out more about this episode, including the Road Runner rules, at https://re-creative.ca/powerpuff-girls/ (don't forget the hyphen!) Re-Creative is a co-production of Donovan Street Press Inc. in association with Mark A. Rayner. Contact us at: joemahoney@donovanstreetpress.com &n...

Mark and Joe talk to author Krista Wallace about a painting that directly inspired her books, called Tunnel Vision. Check out the show notes here: https://re-creative.ca/tunnel-vision/ This is Tunnel Vision, the painting that inspired Krista: Re-Creative is a co-production of Donovan Street Press Inc. in association with Mark A. Rayner. Contact us at: joemahoney@donovanstreetpress.com  

Mark and Joe have an engrossing conversation with Tim Blackmore about the film Alien, especially the origin and nature of the visual elements in that film, and how the thinking behind those elements has informed wider society since.  Find out more about this episode at https://re-creative.ca/alien/ (don't forget the hyphen!) Re-Creative is a co-production of Donovan Street Press Inc. in assoc...

Joe and Mark learn about The Overstory, by Richard Powers. It is a Pulitzer Prize winning novel that had a meaningful and moving impact on their guest, the writer, naturalist and limnologist Nina Munteanu. For more information about this episode and the podcast, please visit: re-creative.ca/the-overstory Re-Creative is a co-production of Donovan Street Press Inc. in association with Mark A. Rayner...

Joe and Mark talk to John Corcelli, author of Frank Zappa FAQ , about his latest book on George Carlin. It's a fascinating deep-dive into the work, life and genius of the comedian, actor, philosopher, social commentator, and just plain funny guy George Carlin. Corcelli knows his subject exceptionally well and brings it all to the table.   Check out the show notes here: https://re-creative.ca/...

Mark and Joe revisit childhood with Canadian author Arlene F. Marks, as they discuss the painting Children's Games, by by Flemish Renaissance artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder. For more information about this episode and the podcast, please visit: re-creative.ca/childrens-games/ Re-Creative is a co-production of Donovan Street Press Inc. in association with Mark A. Rayner. Contact us at: joemahoney@...

Joe and Mark discuss Kurt Vonnegut's novel Cat's Cradle, Vonnegut having come up several times previously in episodes of Re-Creative.  For more information about this episode, or Re-Creative, please visit: re-creative.ca/cats-cradle/ Re-Creative is a co-production of Donovan Street Press Inc. in association with Mark A. Rayner. Contact us at: joemahoney@donovanstreetpress.com  

Hosts Mark and Joe discuss Director Tobe Hooper's 1985 cult classic, Lifeforce, with their guest Corey Redekop.  For more information about this episode or Re-Creative, please visit: https://re-creative.ca/lifeforce  Re-Creative is a co-production of Donovan Street Press Inc. in association with Mark A. Rayner. Contact us at: joemahoney@donovanstreetpress.com  

Melissa Yuan-Innes joins hosts Mark and Joe to talk about A Grimm Night by Transcen|Dance Project, an interactive theatrical experience in which audiences are welcomed, masked and set free to explore a dance version of Grimm's fairy tales.  For more information about the episode and the podcast, please visit: https://re-creative.ca/a-grimm-night/ Re-Creative is a co-production of Donovan Stre...

Hosts Joe and Mark talk to author Robert Chazz Chute about his work and one of his greatest influences, well-known author and screenwriter William Goldman, focussing on Goldman's novel The Color of Light.  For more information about this episode and re-creative, please visit: re-creative.ca/the-color-of-light/ Re-Creative is a co-production of Donovan Street Press Inc. in association with Mar...

Hosts Joe and Mark discuss "the Dean of American Composers" Aaron Copland's seminal composition Appalachian Spring with one third of the Arrogant Worms, Michael McCormick.  For more information about episode and Re-Creative, please visit: https://re-creative.ca/appalachian-spring Re-Creative is a co-production of Donovan Street Press Inc. in association with Mark A. Rayner. Contact us at: joe...

Hosts Mark and Joe talk to author and former Amazing Stories editor Ira Nayman about satire; in particular they discuss Lindsay Anderson's 1973 comedy drama fantasy film O Lucky Man.  For more information about this episode, including film trailers, please visit: https://re-creative.ca/o-lucky-man/ Re-Creative is a co-production of Donovan Street Press Inc. in association with Mark A. Rayner...

Cape Breton speculative fiction writer Sherry D. Ramsey joins Mark and Joe to discuss a painting that has been “lost” to her, The Traveler. She originally saw the work in 2004 at the Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History, in a show called Five Crows Silver. But she was never able to track down the artist. The painting stuck with her, though, and it inspired her to write The Seventh Crow , in which...

In this episode of Re-Creative, hosts Joe and Mark talk about author and filmmaker Susan Rodgers' inspiration, the oil painting Setting Day, by award winning artist and restaurateur Scott O'Neil. And as usual the conversation just goes on from there, with at least one stunning revelation: just exactly who Susan's related to.  For more information about Re-Creative and this episode, please vis...