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Shab-e She’r (Poetry Night) CXVIII Shab-e She’r (Poetry Night) is Canada’s most diverse & brave poetry reading + open mic series
Featured poets: Maggie Helwig & Mahdi Ganjavi
+ Open Mic for poetry in any language
Host: Bänoo Zan
Time: Tuesday, February 17, 2026
Place: Living Room, Tranzac Club, 292 Brunswick Ave, Toronto, ON M5S 2M7
This is an in-person event open to the public.
Open Mic Sign-up: 6:30 PM at the venue
Open Mic Duration: 3 minutes
Show: 7-10 PM EST
Admission: $10-20 Sliding Scale
Cash at the door
There is an ATM machine at the venue.
Maggie Helwig (she/they) is a white settler in Tkaronto/Toronto. Helwig is the author of sixteen books of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, most recently Encampment: Resistance, Grace, and an Unhoused Community (Coach House Books), which won the 2025 City of Toronto Book Award. Helwig is also a social justice activist and an Anglican priest, and serves as the rector of the Church of St Stephen-in-the-Fields in Kensington Market.
Mahdi Ganjavi is a poet, publisher, and professor at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Information. His work explores Middle Eastern studies, Cold War knowledge production, and print culture. He is the author of Education and the Cultural Cold War: The Franklin Book Program in Iran (I.B. Tauris). As editor-in-chief of Asemana Magazine and director of Asemana Books, he amplifies diasporic, underrepresented, progressive, and decolonial voices. Ganjavi has published a novel, two short story collections, and five poetry collections, including The Galaxy Has No Memory of Sunset. His work bridges scholarship, resistance, and cultural memory through multilingual, community-driven publishing.
Event Poster: Ghazaleh Zarrinzadeh
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Tranzac Club, 292 Brunswick Ave, Toronto, ON M5S 2M7, Canada
Concerts, fests, parties, meetups - all the happenings, one place.
