"Predestined for Failure:" The Writing Life - Episode 1 of 2 with Canadian writer Guy Vanderhaeghe

Guy Vanderhaeghe has been a distinguished presence on the Canadian writing scene since he published his debut work in 1984, the short story collection Man Descending, which won Canada's prestigious Governor-General's Award for Fiction. His latest book is the novel, August into Winter, published in 2021. But Guy is not only a writer: he is also a teacher who works regularly with aspiring writers. In part one of this colorful and richly detailed interview, Guy tells the inspiring story of his inexplicable passion for literature, the unusual background that he comes from in small-town Saskatchewan, how he sees the evolution of writing in the light of political and social change, and his insights on good writing for both writers and readers. He concludes on a darker note, turning to "cancel culture" and confronting the  question of how to deal with "good writers" who may be "bad people" - the subject of the next part of this fascinating interview.