The Art Bar at the Victory Café is one of Toronto’s most popular poetry venues, bringing poets from across Canada to the city’s audiences. The Art Bar Poetry Series is recognized as the longest running poetry-only reading series in Canada.

Date: Tuesdays at 8 p.m.
Toronto,  Ontario,  Canada
http://www.artbar.org/

“Capital Slam is Ottawa’s monthly slam poetry series. It was founded in October 2004 by Elissa Molino and Greg “Ritallin” Frankson, two members of the team that represented Ottawa at the 2004 Canadian Spoken Wordlympics.”

CapitalSlam.com is the online home of the Capital Poetry Collective: Ottawa's Spoken Word Society. Sign up for their “email list”http://capitalslam.com/mailman/listinfo/cpcevents_capitalslam.com

Date: Monthly at Cafe Dekcuf, 221 Rideau Street 2nd floor. See email list for times.
Ottawa,  Ontario,  Canada
http://www.capitalslam.com/

Join Coach House or their authors at events around the country.

Toronto,  Ontario,  Canada
http://www.chbooks.com/content/events/

“The popular Dusty Owl Reading Series began in the early nineties in the heyday of Ottawa open mike poetry readings, and for five years it held forth in the late, lamented Cafe Wim on Sussex in the Market. In 1999, the series went dormant, and was revived in early 2004…. In the two years since its (re)inception, it’s featured poets, novelists, journalists, folk and blues bands, fundraisers, open mikes, and book launches. The reborn Owl has found its home at the intimate and friendly Swizzles Bar & Grill (246-B Queen Street, between Bank and Kent; down the stairs beside the Thai restaurant).”

Date: Swizzles Bar & Grill. 1st and 3rd Sundays. 5-8pm.
Ottawa,  Ontario,  Canada
http://dustyowl.com/

A gathering in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia of emerging & established writers from across Canada.

Vernon,  British Columbia,  Canada
http://www.greenboathouse.com/readingseries/index.htm

“Founded in 1984 after the forced closure of David Thompson University Centre in Nelson, the Kootenay School of Writing relocated to Vancouver to offer inexpensive courses (in writing, editing, and publishing), to sponsor colloquia and critical talks on writing, visual art, and politics, and to host a reading series with local, Canadian, and international writers, and to continue publishing Writing magazine….”

“The Kootenay School of Writing is a response to the failure of most public institutions to serve their artistic communities. It stands in opposition to the concept of ‘cultural industry’ in its recognition that theory, practice, and teaching of writing is best left to working writers….”

KSW Audio: “Hundreds of hours of poetry recordings, going back to the New Poetics Colloquium of 1985, have been added to the site in downloadable mp3.”

Sign up for their email list. See events page.

Vancouver (but it started in Nelson),  British Columbia,  Canada
http://www.kswnet.org/index.cfm

The League has a reading series list as well as a readings calender to guide you to member readings by region across Canada.

Canada
http://www.poets.ca/linktext/links/links12.htm

Mocambopo, with a featured reader and an open mike, is a launching pad for the energies of writers and poets established and not. The reading series happens at The Black Stilt Coffee House, #103-1633 Hillside Avenue.

Date: Every Friday, 7:30 P.M., $3
Victoria,  British Columbia,  Canada
http://mocambopo.blogspot.com/

“This year’s theme is …. Poetry: Future (In)tense. What will poetry sound like in the future? What is a techno-poem? How will poetry fuse with other art forms like theatre or music? Instead of science-fiction, what would science-poetry sound like? …”

“Established in Canada in April 1999 by the League of Canadian Poets, National Poetry Month brings together schools, publishers, booksellers, literary organizations, libraries, and poets across the country to celebrate poetry and its vital place in Canada’s culture. Communities and businesses participate through readings, festivals, book displays, and other events.”

• Young Poets’ Week Initiatives: April 9-15th 2007
• Canada Poetry Fact Sheet
• Events Calendar

Date: April 2007: readings and events across Canada
Canada
http://www.poets.ca/linktext/npm.htm

“Pages operates in the tradition of bookselling that goes beyond selecting, stocking and offering books for sale. The tradition extends to being a gathering place where ideas are exchanged and communities developed. The store serves the exciting neighbourhood that has grown at Toronto’s Queen Street West and a broad grouping of artists, writers, intellectuals, journalists, filmmakers, designers, and voracious critical readers.”

“Pages Books & Magazines, in partnership with NOW Magazine and The Gladstone Hotel, presents This Is Not A Reading Series (TINARS)… We’ve got live boxing, zombie flashmobs, meat rhymes, molecular poetics, dysfunctional families, cyclist sleuths, hockey erotica and more from the best fiction and non-fiction titles.”

Date: This Is Not A Reading Series (TINARS) takes place at the Gladstone Hotel, various times
256 Queen Street West, Toronto,  Ontario,  Canada
http://pagesbooks.ca/

“Located in the heart of the Kensington Village shopping and entertainment district, Pages is Calgary’s literary meeting place. We offer over 10,000 titles in stock at any given time and, through our special order service, we have access to most North American titles in print…”

“Our reading series goes practically year-round, offering the latest from Calgary’s writers as well as those from across Canada and around the world. Check out our upcoming events calendar to keep on top of what’s happening ‘upstairs at the bookstore’.” Or sign up for the email list newsletter.

1135 Kensington Road N.W., Calgary,  Alberta,  Canada
http://www.pages.ab.ca/index.html

“a launching pad for the energies of writers and poets established and not. It is a place where words are most important. A venue in which all manner of poets and writers are welcome; a place for excellence, innovation, collaboration, diverse projects and experiments.”

“A featured reader and an open mike.”

Date:  Fridays. 7:30 P.M.The Black Stilt Coffee House, #103-1633 Hillside Avenue. $3
Victoria,  British Columbia,  Canada
http://planetearthpoetryatblackstilt.blogspot.com/

“The first six letters on a keyboard… Qwerty is published two to three times each year by the Department of English at the University of New Brunswick.”

Check out the Qwerty Reading Series for 2007: “…held at the Underground Café on the last Friday of every month. QWERTY READS is an arts laboratory where everyone is welcome to experiment.”

Date: In 2007. Last Friday of every Month at the Underground Café
Fredericton,  New Brunswick,  Canada
http://www.lib.unb.ca/Texts/QWERTY/

“By accessing a number of different communities, the Robson Square Reading Series brings people together for a common purpose: the broadening of minds. In that spirit of diversity, the UBC Bookstore and UBC Library at Robson Square are pleased to present a selection of writers from varying backgrounds with a particular emphasis on new voices. As a university, a centre for learning, it is our intention to foster our next generation of writers, giving them a place to reach out to the community, making a space for sharing, learning and growth. The UBC Bookstore and UBC Library at Robson Square offer this free series to challenge our understanding of Canadian living, and to expose us to fresh ideas from some of the country’s finest writers.”

“All readings are held in the UBC Bookstore at Robson Square in downtown Vancouver.”

Date: Thursdays (generally), 7pm. At UBC Bookstore in Robson Square, downtown Vancouver
Vancouver,  British Columbia,  Canada
http://toby.library.ubc.ca/webpage/webpage.cfm?id=386

A literary arts and performance series, SASQUATCH meets every second and fourth Sunday of the month, July and August excepted, at the Royal Oak II pub. The series offers an eclectic mix of poetry, prose, song and other performance arts.

Ottawa,  Ontario,  Canada
http://www.e-sasquatch.ca

“Since 1973, Spartacus Books is a non-profit, volunteer & collectively run bookstore & resource center located right on the edge of Vancouver’s Eastside. The store has been successfully run for over 33 years by a collective of volunteers.”

Many Kootenay School of Writing events happen here. See events calendar

319 West Hastings, Vancouver,  British Columbia,  Canada
http://www.spartacusbooks.org/

“The goal of the Test Reading Series is to provide its audience with an opportunity for immersion in vital works of contemporary poetry within a context that facilitates inquiry. Held at Mercer Union, a Centre for Contemporary Art, Test also encourages mutual awareness and dialogue among members of Toronto’s various arts communities…. Test is curated by Mark Truscott.”

See upcoming “events”http://www.testreading.org/index.html. Listen to recordings.

Mercer Union, a Centre for Contemporary Art, Toronto,  Ontario,  Canada
http://www.testreading.org/

Bookstore in Guelph with Monday night readings and other events: eBar, music, cinema.

Bookshelf Monday Night Readings
eBar Calendar of Events

Date: Monday night readings
41 Quebec Street, downtown Guelph,  Ontario,  Canada
http://www.bookshelf.ca/

” Presented by the small press action network - ottawa (span-o) and The Ottawa Art Gallery”

Ottawa,  Ontario,  Canada
http://www.ottawaartgallery.ca/factoryreadingseries/

“The Golden Star Lounge (GSL) is a monthly spoken word poetry series featuring professional spoken word poets with an urban flavour. The shows, which also include performances by musicians and singers, usually take place on the last Friday of each month. The series was founded by Anthony Bansfield and Moses Abraham in 2002, and is currently in its 4th year of operation. Our series provides an environment where artists can speak to an audience in a dynamic and accessible way about relevant issues and ideas. From the way Ottawa audiences have responded, it is a guiding vision which resonates with a good many people, particularly in Ottawa’s Black community…”

Date: last Friday of the month, usually at the East African Restaruant
Ottawa,  Ontario,  Canada
http://www.geocities.com/nthdigri/goldenstar.htm

“Since 2003, HAP has been a club focussed on small-group readings, large open mics, and publications.”

Simon Fraser University,  British Columbia,  Canada
http://www.sfu.ca/~hapoetry/index.html

“It’s every other Friday night, either published or promising readers (ideally people come out to see an established reader and catch sight of a promising one) at 326 Dundas St W, across from the Art Gallery of Ontario. It’s free, and always at 8pm.”—host Alex Boyd

Date: every other Friday night, 8pm
326 Dundas St W, Toronto,  Ontario,  Canada
http://www.alexboyd.com/ivlounge.html

Tree Readings happen year-round on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month. Doors are at 7:30pm, open set at 8:00pm with featured reader to follow. Located on Laurier near the University of Ottawa at the Royal Oak II Pub downstairs.

Ottawa,  Ontario,  Canada
http://www.treereadingseries.ca/

“Waterloo’s favourite independent bookstore.”

Check out their author series. Sign up for their email list newsletter.

100 King St South, Waterloo,  Ontario,  Canada
http://www.wordsworthbooks.com/default.htm

“On March 5th 2007, a car bomb was exploded on Mutanabbi Street in Baghdad. More than 30 people were killed and more than 100 were wounded. This locale is the historic center of Baghdad bookselling, a winding street filled with bookstores and outdoor book stalls. Named after the famed 10th century classical Arab poet, Al-Mutanabbi, this is an old and established street for bookselling and has been for hundreds of years. It has been the heart and soul of the Baghdad literary and intellectual community.”

To remember the tragic event, various readings are planned for the end of August 2007 including a memorial reading at the San Francisco Main Library Auditorium, August 26th, at 1 P.M. Sponsored by the Mutanabbi Street Coalition (a coalition of poets, writers, artists, printers, booksellers and readers).

Call to Action for Letterpress printers: DEADLINE for the broadsides: August 15 2007.
Call to Action for Booksellers. To help or find out more about the initiatives, contact Overlandbooks[at]earthlink[dot]net.

See also Artifact.

Date: Various events beginning in late August 2007. San Francisco Main Library August 26, 2007. 1pm.
Mutanabbi Street is in Baghdad,  International
http://artifactseries.blogspot.com/2007/05/call-for-volunteers-mutanabbi-street.html

“The Poetry Cubicle’s founding aims are to explore, interpret, document, preserve and archive ‘poetry’ in its myriad, and hybrid, forms, expressions and states, and to provide access to such artistic expressions through the physical and digital realms to as wide an audience as possible.”

See also The itinerant Poetry Librarian weblog.

Norwich,  U.K. (England)
http://www.thepoetrycubicle.org.uk/indexTPC.html

“Artifact is a literary organization committed to the development of avant-garde writing.”

“We run a monthly house reading series, a chapbook press, and yearly public and educational writing projects.”

See also the artifact series blog and the Mutanabbi Street Memorial Reading

San Francisco Bay Area,  United States
http://www.artifactsf.org/

“The Colorado Poets Association is the largest independent poetry organization in Colorado, and one of the largest in the country. The association runs readings, offer workshops and classes, and has a website listing every poetry reading in the state of Colorado, and containing links to hundreds of poetry publications and poets. It’s not only a good resource for people in Colorado wanting to know about poetry, it’s a good resource for anyone outside of Colorado wanting to know about the ‘state’ of poetry in Colorado.”

The site includes extensive world poetry links and a world-wide directory of poets.

Colorado,  United States
http://www.coloradopoets.org