O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree, your branches green entice us! The centrepiece of many homes at this time of year is a decorated tree. Whether it’s fir, pine, or plastic, a well-chosen tree establishes a cozy atmosphere. While there are occupational hazards such as falling needles or ornaments that pets treat as toys, a [...]

Another Word on the Street festival has come and gone, and its predictably delightful array of book and magazine publishers, compelling presentations, and roasted corn trucks are once again behind us. In case, for some reason, you opted to stay indoors on a perfectly summery Sunday afternoon or, gasp!, spent your day elsewhere, Torontoist was there [...]

WHERE: House of Lancaster (Bloor and Margueretta streets) WHEN: Saturday, 11:26 a.m. (top) and 11:45 a.m. (bottom) WHAT: Billed as “the largest poetry reading in history,” 100,000 Poets for Change takes place in venues across Toronto, and in countries around the world today. Toronto poets started with breakfast and readings at the House of Lancaster, [...]

From The Raven by Lorenzo Mattotti, courtesy of Galerie Martel. Italian cartoonist and multidisciplinary artist Lorenzo Mattotti has enjoyed a long and successful career, winning several awards for his graphic novels and has illustrated covers for Vanity Fair and The New Yorker. And fortunately for local fans, he will be attending this year’s Toronto Comic [...]

In today’s Urban Planner: Schmooze with poets, show off your mad English skills, see some trashy short films, and test your knowledge of bar trivia.

Every Saturday at noon, Historicist looks back at the events, places, and characters—good and bad—that have shaped Toronto into the city we know today. Portrait of James McIntyre. Poems of James McIntyre (Ingersoll: Ingersoll Chronicle, 1889). It’s a safe bet to declare that James McIntyre was the cheesiest poet of all time. And not just [...]

In this edition of Weekend Planner: help out the library by expanding your own, experience the best Parkdale has to offer, get acquainted with the next generation of theatre artists, agitate on behalf of social assistance, or get a super-early headstart on Toronto Beer Week.

Detail of the cover of Tiny, Frantic, Stronger. Toronto poet Jeff Latosik’s first book, Tiny, Frantic, Stronger, is a heady circus show of surrealist gambit and apologetic memoir. Using every available part of the language, the collection expands on a traditionally lyrical base to include the kind of big ideas few of his peers can [...]

Detail of a photo courtesy of Dani Couture/Animal Effigy. Toronto poet Dani Couture’s second collection, Sweet, is out this month from local poetry house Pedlar Press. The follow-up to Good Meat, her debut collection, Sweet is a step forward in both the poet’s ambition and her repertoire of control. In a book of short, specific [...]

The stars of the poetry firmament will be out tonight at the Stone Distillery for the awarding of the tenth annual Griffin Poetry Prize for excellence in Canadian and international poetry. The Griffin has become one of the most prestigious and lucrative prizes on the international poetry scene, and with the total prize money doubling [...]

Today’s special weekend contributor to The Optimisms Project, poet and teacher Sina Queyras, is all about chaos, the creative chaos that emerges when we dare to break from daily routines and customary points of view. For project curator Jacob McArthur Mooney’s introduction to The Optimisms Project please go here. MORE AT BOOKS.TORONTOIST.COM >

Because it’s Saturday and the city’s young poets are catching a few extra hours of well-earned sleep, we have turned The Optimisms Project over to our first guest contributor, Erín Moure. She is one of Canada’s most acclaimed poets, and she has taken time to ponder the future of poetry in Canada. She likes what [...]