Shab-e She’r (Poetry Night) is Canada’s most diverse & brave poetry reading + open mic series
Featured poets: Mary Simmerling & Subrata Kumar Das
+ Open Mic for poetry in any language
Host: Bänoo Zan
Time: Thursday, November 26, 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.
About the features:
Mary Simmerling is a poet, philosopher, and inter-arts artist whose poem “What I Was Wearing” inspired the internationally recognized What Were You Wearing? survivor art installations. She is the author of The Architecture of Impunity and the forthcoming poetry collection Retracing the Silence. Working at the intersection of poetry, philosophy, and cultural criticism, she leverages writing and art for social justice, focusing on gender-based violence, grief, and healing. A member of the League of Canadian Poets, she publishes emerging voices through Write Where We Belong Press and recently founded The Wrong Questions Project using art and language to upend victim-blaming.
Subrata Kumar Das, who is deeply dedicated to building vibrant literary bridges between the Bengali writing community and the Canadian mainstream, emigrated from Bangladesh in 2013. As the initiator of Canada Journal (c-j.ca), Das has published highly acclaimed Bengali works that explore CanLit. The author, editor, or translator of 31 books, he actively promotes Canadian literature among global Bengalis. A member of the Writers’ Union of Canada and the Literary Translators’ Association of Canada, Das also founded Bangladeshi Novels (bdnovels.org) in 2003. An alumnus of Words on the Street and TIFA, Das works with Toronto-based NRB TV and the weekly BanglaMail.
Event venue
Tranzac Club, 292 Brunswick Ave, Toronto, ON M5S 2M7, Canada
Concerts, fests, parties, meetups — all the happenings, one place.