Spring launch season slows this week, but finishes strongly with new poetry collections by national treasures bill bissett and David McFadden. Tomorrow night, help David celebrate his Selected Poems: Why Are You So Sad?, edited and introduced by Stuart Ross. Here’s Stuart, from the intro: "David's poetry, like David, is social. It's interested in people, and in trees, squirrels, dogs, and oceans. It's also social in that it wants to be read, and it......

For those of you who didn’t attend on Wednesday night, the news coming out of the Pontiac Quarterly is that founder Damian Rogers is leaving the poetry/prose/arts/music night. Liz Clayton is taking over organizing and hosting duties, with her first edition slated for October. Watch for falling haikus: As Ron posted about on Friday, 50 poets, including George Elliot Clarke and Stuart Ross, will be invading Dundas Square today from noon until midnight. If you......

The Diamond Cherry Reading Series – run by local poets and small-press publishers Devon Gallant and Julie Cameron Gray – kicks-off the week with performances by audio poet Hilary Peach (Poems Only Dogs Can Hear) and singer/songwriter/poet Nik Beat. The series takes place each month at the Zemra Lounge – 778 St. Clair West – and starts at 8pm. It’s free, too, so you have no excuse not to go. On Monday, head down to......

Strong Words, the indie reading series put on by Indiepolitik, is celebrating its first year anniversary. Why, it seems like just a few months a go we were coddling baby Strong Words, burping it, changing its diapers and now it's all grown up and publishing anthologies. People who'll be reading at the event include award winning writer George Elliot Clarke, indie-culture Emilys Schultz and Pohl-Weary and more. The book will actually include works by the......