Hello Friends, I’m Shelley Leedahl, a writer in lovely Ladysmith on Vancouver Island, and this is my literary podcast, Something Like Love. The ten shows in Season 2 will centre around random weekly themes, and I’ll release a new episode each Wednesday.

You’re going to hear a “Shellified” cover song, a selection of prose or poems – either from my already-published books or new work – and a meditation to soothe and inspire as we stumble together through these unprecedented times. Hang in there, folks. We’ve got this. 

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The theme this week is "Eyes," and because I'm sorta/kinda obsessed with Natalie Merchant, I challenged myself to cover her sublime song "Carnival". (Damn, that was hard.) 

You'll also hear seven poems - each with the word "eyes" somewhere in the text - from my four poetry collections. The poems are:

- "Pedro Has A Good Day," from A Few Words For January  (Thistledown Press, 1990, 1997), this poem was written after my first ever international travel experience ... it was 1987, and the country was the Dominican Republic).

-From Talking Down the Northern Lights (Thistledown Press, 2001, 2002), I chose "Rendezvous at the Wayside Inn" (a few lines of which were re-used for the indie band Maltavar's song "Shots of Bacardi). 

-"With Frost Laced on the Windows, There Is No Seeing Out" and "Snow Day" were both written at my former writing retreat house in Middle Lake, SK. " Revelations" was written in a Catholic Monastery just south of Dublin, Ireland, where I went on a solo retreat. These three poems appeared in my collection The House of the Easily Amused  (Oolichan Books, 2008).

-"Photograph" and "For You" are also Saskatchewan-based poems, and they appeared in Wretched Beast (Buschek Books, 2012). I still have a few copies of this now out-of-print book kicking around, and would be stoked to sign and mail you one ... $15 Canadian per copy, plus postage and handling.  I'm easy to find via The Writers Union of Canada website.

I end this episode with a guided meditation. It's a rest for your eyes, and an invitation to felt held, cared for, loved. To feel like you're in a bowl of light. If I have my way, you are. 

Thank you for listening. Go well.