Shab-e She’r (Poetry Night) LIX Report

Shab-e She’r (Poetry Night) had our 59th event (since our inception in Nov. 2012) and our first event in 2018, on January 30, at our gorgeous venue in Toronto. It was an inspiring night of stellar poetry and joyous generosity and diversity, not only in our line-up of featured poets, but also reflected in our open mic’ers and audience. David C. Brydges launched two of his books, and donated 15 copies of them as well as the proceeds from the sales to Shab-e She’r. He also involved Honey Novick and Kate Marshall Flaherty in his performance. Canisia Lubrin awed us with her incredible poetry and audience participation in her performance. 

We had 16 brave open mic’ers:

1.      Giovanna Riccio

2.      Jovan

3.      Norman Allan

4.      Elisha (Charlie Chopra)

5.      Lawrence

6.      Sydney White

7.      Gao An

8.      Catherine Thomson

9.      Li

10.  Susan

11.  Christian

12.  Jerome

13.  Mohammad Omar

14.  Alexandra Seay

15.  Tyna Silver

16.  Tom Smarda

Much love to Shab-e She’r team, Kate Marshall Flaherty (refreshments and land acknowledgment), Giovanna Riccio (welcome desk and closing), Roxana Khoshravesh (photography and closing), and Glen Gary (posters), for their dedication and hard work; to St. Stephen in-the-Fields for the beautiful space; to Guernica Editions for books; all who spread the word and brought friends; to our wonderful features and open mic’ers; and to the best audience in the world.

Shab-e She’r is Toronto’s most diverse and brave poetry reading and open mic series founded to bridge the gap between mainstream and minorities and to bring together people of diverse ethnicities, nationalities, religions (or lack thereof), genders, sexual orientations, ages, (dis)abilities, and poetic styles, voices and visions.

But the extent of our diversity depends on each and every one of you: Here are some ways in which you can help:

1.      Mark your calendars and attend our events.

2.      Spread the word on social media.

3.      Volunteer as a team member.

Stay tuned for our future events: like our Facebook page, Shab-e She’r –Poetry Night, join our FB group, Shab-e She’r (Poetry Night), follow us on Twitter: @ShabeSherTO & @BanooZan and/or Instagram: @banoo.zan.

See you,

B?noo Zan

The founder