The Ampersand Review November Reading Series

Join us for an evening with two of Canada's finest poets: Chris Banks & Carolyn Smart! This November we're continuing the fall Reading Series with Canadian authors Chris Banks and Carolyn Smart in moderated panel about all-things-poetry! The November Reading Series is happening on Thursday, November 19th, from 6:00-8:00pm in the Creative Campus Gallery (room B234) at Sheridan College's Hazel McCallion campus. Come meet the writers, enjoy some treats, and engage in discussion about Canadian poetry! Guests will also have the chance to purchase copies of Banks and Smart's recent works, as well as sign up for our open mic at the end of the evening. Chris Banks is an award-winning, Pushcart-nominated Canadian poet and author of eight collections of poems, most recently Bureau of Useless Splendour with ECW Press (Fall 2026). His first full-length collection, Bonfires, was awarded the Jack Chalmers Award for poetry by the Canadian Authors’ Association in 2004. Bonfires was also a finalist for the Gerald Lampert Award for best first book of poetry in Canada. His poetry has appeared in The New Quarterly, Arc Magazine, The Antigonish Review, Event, The Malahat Review, The Walrus, OnlyPoems, American Poetry Journal, The Glacier, Best American Poetry (blog), Prism International, among other publications. Chris was an associate editor with The New Quarterly, and is Editor in Chief of The Woodlot – A Canadian Poetry Reviews & Essays website. He lives with dual disorders–chronic major depression and generalized anxiety disorder– and writes in Kitchener, Ontario. Carolyn Smart is the author of seven poetry collections including Hooked and Careen (both from Brick Books), an award-winning memoir, and the brand new collection of poetry Breath Taking published by Book*hug. She founded the Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers, and for three decades was Director of Creative Writing at Queen’s University. She mentors and edits emerging writers through her website www.carolynsmartediting.ca After 40 years in the countryside of eastern Ontario, she has recently relocated to Toronto.