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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We’ve had a particularly windy fall here on Vancouver Island, and as I’ve just come in from a long walk through the woods and witnessed the wind’s via snapped trees and branch-littered trails, it seems apropos that it’s Wind’s turn to be my theme. I’ll read a new-ish short story, titled "Wind," and share a few poems that include the wind. And speaking of wind, I saw a tornado in Saskatchewan once … but that’s a story for another day.  

As for my cover song, well, I’m guessing you all know "Blowin’ in the Wind" ...  please sing along!

I’ve also got a few poems in my pocket. The first, "Windy Day at the Beach, July 2000," appeared in my collection  Talking Down the Northern Lights. A few phrases from this poem also appeared in a song I contributed to, "Shots of Bacardi," by the Vancouver/San Francisco-based indie band, Maltavar. The musicians did an amazing job with the song … you can listen here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2Y2UF9PhSI

The other poems are newer and have not yet been published as part of a collection, but the poem’s "Deluge" and "Alfama" were shortlisted for Arc Magazine’s Poem of the Year Contest. (Alfama is the Moorish area of Lisbon … I was in Portugal in 2013, and ended up speeding down the highway in the back of a police paddy wagon … but that’s a story for another day, too. ) 

The long-titled "Song for the Homeless as We Drive to Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse in a Red Convertible on a Thursday Night in June" appeared in an educational anthology, Modern Morsels, Selections of Short Fiction and Poetry, published by McGraw-Hill Ryerson. I wrote it, "Deluge," and the final poem, "Let Us," when I lived in Edmonton.

Re: the short meditation in this episode, the music beneath it is not my own, it’s called "Weightless," and it’s by the British ambient band Marconi Union. An American study deemed it “the world’s most relaxing song,” and in the study surgical patients listened to the song before their operations … it was a sedative. Marconi Union wrote the band in 2012 specifically to reduce anxiety, blood pressure and heart rate. Cool, eh? I like to play it when I take the time for a long, relaxing bath. 

Thank you for listening. If you enjoy what I'm doing here, please share my podcast with a friend. Go well, Lovelies.