The Ethically Immoral Podcast
The Ethically Immoral Podcast is a program dedicated to long-form conversations with poets, spoken word artists, authors, and creatives who use language as a tool for truth-telling, healing, and resistance. Hosted by Mike Payne, the show travels beyond the typical interview to explore the personal histories, artistic philosophies, and cultural contexts that shape the voice of the Creatives we welcome.
It’s not just about poetry or performance — it’s about the people behind the pen. We talk about identity, healing, joy, frustration, and the journey of becoming. Some moments are deep, others are funny, but all of them are authentic. If you’re someone who values storytelling, vulnerability, and good conversation, this space was created and cultivated for you.
The Ethically Immoral Podcast
Volume Seven: Chapter Two - Our Conversation with Stephanie Bolster
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In Volume Seven: Chapter Two of the podcast, we welcomed Vancouver-born, Quebec-based Educator, Writer, Poet, and Author of the poetry collection Long Exposure, Stephanie Bolster.
Stephanie is Professor of Creative Writing at Concordia University, earned her BFA and MFA from the University of British Columbia, and is the author of five poetry collections.
In our conversation we discuss her creative beginnings—starting with early storytelling, a childhood desire to become an author, and the writers who helped define her path. She speaks on discovering poetry through Emily Dickinson, and later finding something deeper and more urgent in the work of Sylvia Plath—an influence that helped shift poetry from something she enjoyed to something she needed.
We also spend time unpacking identity—what it meant to call herself a poet early on, before expectations and career entered the picture, and how that relationship to the word “poet” has evolved over time. That idea opens into a broader conversation about imagination, the role poetry plays in making sense of the world, and whether those two instincts—creation and understanding—work together or pull in different directions.
We discuss Long Exposure, a project more than a decade in the making, and what it means to finally bring that work into the world. Stephanie reflects on her relationship with the collection, the time it took to come together, and how living with a manuscript for that long shapes both the work and the writer behind it.
We close on process and balance: her writing routine, the importance of physical space and environment, and the ongoing challenge of making room for writing within the realities of teaching, family, and life. It’s a transparent look at the tension between knowing writing is essential and still having to negotiate time for it.
Contact Stephanie:
Website: stephaniebolster.com Instagram: @stephaniebolster0110
Recorded Spoken Word Performances Featured Include:
Shanelle Gabriel – Vanity
Instagram: @shanellegabriel Website: shanellegabriel.com
Matt Capone – Learned with Love
Instagram: @matt__capone
Gigi Bella – Slut
Instagram: @ggbellag Website: gigibellapoetry.com
Anyrah Shaveh – We Must Not Die Young
Instagram: @iamshaveh Website: anyrahshaveh.com
Moody Black – Eight Letters
Instagram: @iammoodyblack Website: iammoodyblack.com
