TORONTO
It’s Pride Week in Toronto, which means loads of readings and special events. For a complete event listing, go to Pride Toronto’s website. We’ve marked Pride events with a +.
Monday June 25, 7pm, Poetrix, Glad Day Bookshop, 598A Yonge Street, free +
Poetry and spoken word with Kirk DeMatas, Jordaan Mason, Samira Mohyeddin, Brock Hessel and MIchael Erickson plus an open mic.
Tuesday June 26, 7pm, Scenesters and Storytellers, Glad Day Bookshop, 598A Yonge Street, free +
A night of queer dramatic (and not-so dramatic) readings. Readers include Sarah Bertrand, Louis Esme Cruz, Ryan G. Hinds, Catherine Hernandez, Spencer Charles Smith, Evan Vipond and Teneile Warren.
Tuesday June 26, 8:00-11:00pm, Art Bar Poetry Series, Pauper’s Pub, 539 Bloor Street West
Featuring Aisha Sasha John, adebe d.a. and Stuart Ross.
Wednesday June 27, 7pm, Thom Vernon, Glad Day Bookshop, 598A Yonge Street, free +
Vernon will read from his debut novel, The Drifts.
Thursday June 28, 8:00pm, The Golden Hour: Toronto, Placebo Space, 1409 Bloor Street West, Apt. A
An event featuring readings, music and art. Featuring Natalie Zina Walschots, Dan Meth, Leigh Kotsildis, Ryan Van Winkle, and music by JF Robitaille and others.
Thursday June 28, 7:30pm, Feathertale Book Launch, The Annex Live, 296 Brunswick Avenue
An event of live comedy commemorating the joint release of The Feathertale Review #9 (a modern magazine in classic form) and Feathertale’s Big Book of Exquisitely Egregious Poetry and Diverse Versification and So Forth. Featuring the Toronto Poetry Slam Team.
Friday, June 29, 2pm, Fiction with Friction 1, Glad Day Bookshop, 598A Yonge Street, free +
Fiction readings by Ken Harvey, Matthew J Trafford and David Balzer.
Friday June 29, 8:30 – 9:30pm, Proud Voices, Glad Day Bookshop, 598A Yonge Street, free +
Readings by Nina Arsenault, Alex Butler and Chase Joynt.
Share a poem and meet other poets. The event will move to the Firkin on Yonge following the poetry sharing. For more information and RSVP info, please check out the Facebook event.
Hosted by Osaze Dolabaille and featuring poetry by Tomy Bewick. Open mic to follow.
Six poets from TO have been invited to perform, and two are chosen from the audience (a random draw if necessary). Poets competing include: Valentino Assenza, Tanya Neumeyer, Rahul Gupta, Arianna Pozuolli, Simba, and Mango. Featuring C.R. Avery from Vancouver. Winning contestants will move onto finals on Sunday.
Hosted by Dave Silverberg
Saturday June 30, 10am, Fiction with Friction 2, Glad Day Bookshop, 598A Yonge Street, free +
Fiction readings by Lizz Bugg, Grace Flahive and Debra Anderson.
Saturday June 30, 4-7:30pm, Proud Voices, Glad Day Bookshop, 598A Yonge Street, free +
Readings by Nalo Hopkinson, Farzana Doctor, Tara-Michelle Ziniuk, Kamal Al-Solaylee, Kristyn Dunnion, Marcus McCann
and Daniel Allen Cox.
Saturday June 30, 6pm, Toronto Poetry Slam, Drake Underground, 1150 Queen Street West, 5pm, all-ages
Toronto Poetry Slam hosts their monthly night at the Drake with special guest, Halifax’s Shauntay Grant.
This independent artist-run and family friendly festival will feature 12 straight hours of live music, site-specific outdoor art installations, performances, folk dance workshops, a puppet slam and feasts of fresh food. To learn more and buy tickets, click here.
Sunday July 1, 5:00-7:00pm, Proud Voices, Glad Day Bookshop, 598A Yonge Street, free +
With readings by S Bear Bergman, Sky Gilbert, Waawaate Fobister, Shawn Syms and Ari Belathar.
Sunday July 1, 11:30am – 2:30pm, Sunday Poetry at Ellington’s, 805 St. Clair Avenue W, free
The theme this week is Breaking Through Fear with poetry from Tarek Bibi, Anthony VanZant, Cameron Cardwell, Rohan Campbell, and others.
HALIFAX
Monday June 25, 6pm-8pm, Salt Lines Book Launch, The Company House, 2202 Gottingen Street
Join the Halifax community for the launch of a book of Maritime writers sharing wisdom and encouragement.
KINGSTON
Friday June 29, 8pm – 11pm, MOUTHY, Sleepless Goat Cafe, 91 Princess Street
The monthly storytelling series “roasts” local cafe and co-op The Sleepless Goat, featuring tales from current and former staff, patrons and more. The event is pay what you can.
MONTREAL
Join us for an evening of comics reading, with Alexandre Fontaine Rousseau and Francois Samson Dunlop (releasing the English translation of their hit comic Pinkerton), along with Sophie Yanow, Julie Delporte, David Turgeon, and Vincent Giard.
New York-based cartoonist Matthew Diffee will be signing The Best of the Rejection Collection: 293 Cartoons That Were Too Dumb, Too Dark, or Too Naughty for The New Yorker. Toronto’s Anita Kunz and New York’s Barry Blitt will be signing Blown Covers: New Yorker Covers You Were Never Meant to See.