Events

Browse through our regularly-updated calendar to plan your literary outings. Click on events for details. Events are free unless otherwise noted.

*Indicates the event is a short drive from the GTA

Upcoming Events

Reception for The Monkey's Paw "Section Label Project"

When
Friday, July 25, 2008 - 5:00pm

The Monkey's Paw
1229 Dundas Street West
Toronto, ON
Map to The Monkey's Paw

Details

This summer, Toronto's most idiosyncratic secondhand bookshop, The Monkey's Paw, hosts an unprecedented site-specific group art show: The Monkey's Paw Section Label Project. At the invitation of co-curators Stephen Fowler and Kerri Reid, 13 local artists will respond visually to the cultural content of an entire bookstore by creating (very small) section labels for all 52 subject categories throughout the shop.

Who:
Stephen APPLEBY-BARR
Katie BETHUNE-LEAMEN
Diane BORSATO
Shary BOYLE
Nicole COLLINS
Nicholas DI GENOVA
Kristan HORTON
Michael MARANDA
Olia MISHCHENKO
Jenn MURPHY
Lauchie REID
Derek SULLIVAN
Jacob WHIBLEY
(All participating artists are Monkey's Paw customers, and bring with them first-hand knowledge of the shop's aesthetic philosophy and intellectual bent. In style, they range from literalist illustrators to austere conceptualists; but all share a demonstrated fondness for whimsy, pathos, and subversion.)

Where/When:
The Monkey's Paw is located at 1229 Dundas St. West (between Ossington Ave. and Dovercourt Rd., in the heart of Toronto's "Little Portugal"). The Section Label Project will be installed in the shop from July 23 to August 10, 2008. A public reception will be held at the shop on Friday, July 25.

Why:
The Monkey's Paw differs from other bookshops in a number of ways, not least in its imaginative organization and complete lack of signage. Although the books on the shelves are carefully arranged by subject, the shelves themselves are not labelled. Nothing interrupts the organic flow of one section into the next, and browsing becomes an act of exploration and discovery: "bookshop as narrative."

With the Section Label Project, the artists will interpret, or re-interpret, that narrative. The labels they create will add new dimensions of significance and mystery, and deepen the complexity of the relationship between books, browsers, and environment. They'll look damned cool, too.

Masala! Mehndi! Masti! DesiLit Writers’ Stage

When
Saturday, July 26, 2008 - 1:00pm
Where
Where

Exhibition Place
Better Living Centre (near vendors' market)
Toronto, ON

Map to Exhibition Place

Details

The Masala! Mehndi! Masti! DesiLit Writers’ Stage focuses on the work of writers (fiction, poetry, non-fiction), storytellers and spoken word artists.

The stage will be open on July 26th and July 27th and will have programming for adults and children, including interactive writing activities for all ages, stellar performances and lots of contest giveaways. Check out the Toronto Women's Bookstore and the Writers' and Reader's tables.

Saturday, July 26th
1:00-2:15: Live participatory writing activity
2:30-3:15: That Brown Bastard, Nila Gupta, Laila Haidarali
3:30-4:15: Ahmad Saidullah, Arti Mehta, Mary Anne Mohanraj
4:45-5:30: Janice Goveas, Sheniz Janmohamed, Mahtab Narsimhan
5:45-6:15: Children’s story reading
6:30-7:00: Wasela Hiyate, Moez Surani

Want to volunteer? Contact mmmwritersstage@gmail.com

Masala! Mehndi! Masti! DesiLit Writers’ Stage community partners are: Humber Schol for Writers, Open Book: Toronto, World Literacy of Canada, The Writers Union of Canada, Frontier College, Canada Council for the Arts, Sumach Press, Key Porter Books and many more!

Masala! Mehndi! Masti! DesiLit Writers’ Stage

When
Sunday, July 27, 2008 - 12:00pm
Where
Where

Exhibition Place
Better Living Centre (near vendors' market)
Toronto, ON

Map to Exhibition Place

Details

The Masala! Mehndi! Masti! DesiLit Writers’ Stage focuses on the work of writers (fiction, poetry, non-fiction), storytellers and spoken word artists.

The stage will be open on July 26th and July 27th and will have programming for adults and children, including interactive writing activities for all ages, stellar performances and lots of contest giveaways. Check out the Toronto Women's Bookstore and the Writers' and Reader's tables.

Sunday, July 27th
12:00-1:00: Dipak Mazumdar, Meena Chopra, Cheryl Antao-Xavier, Rashmee Karnad-Jani, Zohra Zoberi, Priti Dhamane
1:15-1:45: Sarena Parmar, Nitin Deckha
1:50-2:40: Live participatory writing activity
2:45-3:15: Taima Silk –the amazing children’s storyteller
4:15-5:00: Sahar Rizvi, Pratap Reddy, Sharanpal Ruprai

Want to volunteer? Contact mmmwritersstage@gmail.com

Masala! Mehndi! Masti! DesiLit Writers’ Stage community partners are: Humber Schol for Writers, Open Book: Toronto, World Literacy of Canada, The Writers Union of Canada, Frontier College, Canada Council for the Arts, Sumach Press, Key Porter Books and many more!

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