Website: artbarpoetryseries.com
Email: artbarpoetry@gmail.com
Social media:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/artbarpoetry/
@artbarpoetry on Instagram and Twitter/X
Goals/mission:
- To provide a recurring in-person space in which established poets, emerging writers, and attentive audience members alike can share in the atmosphere of poetry readings.
- To expose readers and writers to new styles and forms of poetry that they may not be previously well-acquainted with but that may pleasantly surprise them.
- To host a supportive open mic for regulars and newcomers alike that welcomes spoken word, forms primarily intended for the page, and any combination of the two.
Notable activities:
- Art Bar has hosted (mostly) weekly events for over 30 years and is the longest-running poetry reading series in Canada.
- It began in 1991, named after a room in the Gladstone Hotel that also acted as its first venue. The weekly event consists of organized poetry readings from a few featured poets—over 3,000 in total over the years—followed by an open mic.
- Its activities through the years have included fundraisers at the Art Gallery of Ontario, theme nights such as Poetry and Painting, Al Purdy Night, the annual Black History Night and Dead Poets Night, and collaborations with other literary organizations such as presses or journals.
Ways to get involved:
- Attend a weekly reading. Cover is $10 in cash, and currently the venue (the Free Times Cafe) requests that you have one drink at all times. The event begins promptly at 7 each Monday and runs for about two hours, consisting of readings and breaks.
- Bonus: participate in the open mic. Make sure to be punctual, as slots fill up quickly. Prepare one poem shorter than three minutes.
- Attend a special event such as the annual Dead Poets Night.
- If going to an event feels like a big commitment or is otherwise inaccessible to you, have a taste of what Art Bar Poetry Series offers and rewatch favourite readings on the YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@onecloudpoetry/videos.
Information compiled by Elaine Lee