Readings and Events
Poetry Readings at the Richvale Library June 24, by Bruce Hunter, Mansour Noorbakhsh, Mary Lou Soutar-Hynes and Peter Taylor.
The Launch of Slender Certainties.
Society Clubhouse, 967 College Street Toronto
May 24, 2025, Doors open at 1:30pm, Readings begin at 2:00pm
Photo from the May 24th Launch
Group photo: Mary Lou with some members of the Long Dash Group.
Left to Right: John, Kath, Brenda, Sheila and Mary Lou at the Society Clubhouse, May 24, 2025.
Heart-Threads: Bonds that Bind
A National Poetry Month Reading by the Long Dash Group, and Launch of our Chapbook by the same name.
Wednesday, April 30, 2025, 7:00-8:30pm, At the Foy House, 92 Isabella Street, Toronto
Mary Lou Soutar-Hynes reads from Any Waking Morning (Inanna Publications, 2019).
Poems in the order in which they are read: “Unmasked,” “Because,” “Point of Unravelling,”
and “Deep-Water Benediction. (video will open in a new page)
Video credit: Brenda Clews. Toronto, September, 2020.
Long Dash Reading Video
In September 2020, Mary Lou joined other Toronto poets from the Long Dash Group to film a C0VID-delayed, outdoor reading in celebration of National Poetry Month. Members of the Long Dash Group have been meeting to workshop their poetry for 20+ years. John Oughton, Mary Lou Soutar-Hynes, Elana Wolff, Merle Nudelman, Clara Blackwood and Sheila Stewart (not present) are long-standing members. Kath MacLean (not present) and Brenda Clews are newer additions to the group. (video will open in a new page)
Video credit: Brenda Clews. Toronto, September, 2020.
An Inquiry Through Poetry & Short Fiction:
Authors Mary Lou Soutar-Hynes, Any Waking Morning, nancy viva davis halifax, Hook, Nilofar Shidmehr, Divided Loyalties, and Sheila Stewart, Shape Of A Throat, read from recent poetry and short story collections as well as works-in-progress.
Readings from these Toronto and Vancouver writers will be followed by a short question and answer session.
Tuesday, October 1, 2019, 6:30 – 8:30PM, Halifax Central Library
Reading: Mary Lou Soutar-Hynes will be reading at Green Fire: Ecology of Poetry, a National Poetry Month Event featuring the Long Dash Group of Poets.Also reading: Clara Blackwood, Brenda Clews, Kath MacLean, Merle Nudelman, John Oughton, Sheila Stewart and Elana Wolff.
St. Matthew's Clubhouse, 450 Broadview Ave, Toronto (Broadview at Langley) on the eastern edge of Riverdale Park, Toronto, Sunday, April 14, 2019, 2:00 - 3:30 pm.
The launch of Vallum 26:1 Issue “Connections”
Mary Lou Soutar-Hynes' work will appear in the Vallum 26:1 Issue “Connections” to be launched jointly with A. F. Moritz's new chapbook, Art of Surgery.
The Tranzac Club, 292 Brunswick Ave, Toronto.
Friday, April 26, 2019, 7:00-10 pm.
Hosted by Vallum, the evening will feature readings by:
A. F. Moritz, Mary Lou Soutar-Hynes, Ashley Hynd, MA l DE, John Reibetanz, Meg Freer and more!
The IFOA Toronto Lit Up & Inanna Publications Launch of Any Waking Morning, by Mary Lou Soutar-Hynes, A Palace in Paradise, by Mehri Yalfani, and Spinster Kang, by Zoë S. Roy. See details below.
Selected readings/events
Reading: 8th Annual Battle of the Bards, International Festival of Authors (IOFA) event Brigantine Room, 235 Queens Quay West, Toronto, March 30, 2016
Reading at Routes & Branches in Poetry and Art, 9th Annual Poetry Reading & Art Exhibition, The Dignam Gallery, Women’s Art Association of Canada, Toronto, April 3, 2016
Guest Poet: Words and Music Salon, Vino Rosso Bar & Restaurant, Toronto, June 4, 2016 Reading at Food For The Soul: The Artful Muse, 8th Annual National Poetry Month exhibition and Reading, Dignam Gallery, Women’s Art Association of Canada, Toronto, April 26, 2015
Poetry Reading: Dark Water Songs, Quiet Reading Room, Vaughn Memorial Library, Acadia University, Wolfville, March 4, 2014
Lecture: “From the Fires of Naming to Dark Water Songs: Spiritual Traces from a Writer's Journey” Manning Memorial Chapel, Acadia University, Wolfville, March 5, 2014
Author Reading: Dark Water Songs - Poetry from a Canadian writer of Caribbean origin Spring Garden Road Memorial Public Library, Halifax, March 7, 2014
Dark Water Songs, A Reading, Biscuit Eater Cafe and Books, Mahone Bay, March 9, 2014
Presentation: Poetic Inquiry: Resonant Voices, 4th International Symposium on Poetic Inquiry, McGill University, Montreal, October 23-26 2013
Presentation/Reading: Writing from a Sense of Place, Alliouagana Festival of the Word, 2013, Cultural Centre, Little Bay, Montserrat, November 15-17, 2013
Featured Poet: A Literary Evening, An Arts & Culture Jamaica Event Under the patronage of Jamaica’s Consul General to Toronto, October 17, 2013
Poets' and Artists' Salon: Reading and Exhibition, Long Dash Poets and Studio Artists from the WAAC,
Women's Art Association of Canada, Toronto, April 28, 2013.
View the invitation...
(right-click to download if the PDF does not open in your browser)
Reading/Launch of Dark Water Songs, Inanna Publications, Women's Art Association of Canada, Toronto, April 18, 2013.
View the invitation...
(right-click to download if the PDF does not open in your browser)
| Poet to Poet Anthology launch, Nov. 22, 2012 Reading at the launch of the Poet to Poet anthology (Guernica Editions, 2012), at the Black Swan Tavern, Toronto, November 22, 2012. |
 |
| Art of Poetic Inquiry launch, Nov. 7, 2012 Reading from “Points of Articulation: A Letting Go and a Reaching Towards, A Poet’s Journey” at the launch of the Art of Poetic Inquiry (Backalong Books, 2012), the Dora Keogh Irish Pub, Toronto, November 7, 2012. |
 |
Towards Balance: "Conversations in Poetry and Art, A Reading and Exhibition,” The Women’s Art Association of Canada, Toronto, April 29, 2012
Jamaica 50 Reading, Malvern Public Library, Toronto, April 16, 2012
Presentation: Poetry: Seeing, Understanding, Caring, 3rd. International Symposium on Poetic Inquiry, Bournemouth University, Dorset, UK, October 20-23, 2011.
Art Bar Reading Series, Toronto, August 2, 2011
Reading and Exhibition: A Spring Celebration of Poetry and Art, The Women’s Art Association of Canada, Toronto, April 17, 2011.
Climates of Collaboration,” A National Poetry Month Reading and Exhibition", The Women’s Art Association of Canada, Toronto, April, 25, 2010
Reading: Poetry, Politics and Passion, A Different Booklist, Toronto, March 19, 2010
Presentation: Poetry As a way of Knowing, 2nd. International Symposium on Poetic Inquiry, Centre for Arts Informed Research, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, October 15-18, 2009
Reading: William Soutar House, Perth, Scotland, October 7, 2009.