Salto Restaurant & Bar

We've made it to June, folks! Bring on the Summer rhythms and the Summer rhymes (if ya got 'em), and ExPo Soc awaits all the summery gems you have to share as we launch right into the season: June 21st – 1st – 1st day of summer!

And we have a couple of fantastic features you all in store this month:

NORMAN ALLAN – does six things with passion and most of them with some talent: he's a writer, a painter; a scientist, healer, and chiropractor (so go talk to him if any topic related to such professions are of your interest). He has been writing poetry (and prose) for years, when the muse moves him. Al Alvarez once said that his work lacked “fuck you!" and that's a fault Norman hopes he has corrected. Leonard Cohen said he thought that Norman “had not transcended his bourgeois up-bringing." (and to that he says "fuck you!") Norman is an active member of The Renaissance Revival, a poetry workshop he runs that meets on the 3rd Wednesday of every month at 8 pm at The Pauper's Pub (Bloor and Bathurst area). He has flyers.

BÄNOO ZAN – a poet, librettist, translator, teacher, editor and poetry curator with more than 180 published poems and poetry-related pieces under her belt, as well as three books: Song of Phoenix: Life and Works of Sylvia Plath, which was reprinted in Iran in 2010; Songs of Exile, her first poetry collection, released in 2016 in Canada by Guernica Editions, and shortlisted for the Gerald Lampert Memorial Award by the League of Canadian Poets in 2017; and Letters to My Father, her second poetry book, published in 2017 by Piquant Press in Canada. She is the founder of Shab-e She’r, which in her Persian language translates directly to "Poetry Night" (how apropos!), and has been Toronto’s most diverse poetry reading and open mic series since November, 2012. It is a brave space that bridges the gap between communities of poets from different ethnicities, nationalities, religions (or lack thereof), ages, genders, sexual orientations, disabilities, poetic styles, voices and visions.

Unfortunately Emilio will not be able to master the ceremonies on this date due to schedule conflicts (odd but true), however, Clay will be in attendance, so they'll be running the night (treat them well).

So come on out June 21st and hang with (us) as we welcome Summer with our poetry. Spread the word, bring your friends, open mic slots are available as always (ask Clay for details).