Getting involved and finding a community as an emerging writer

If I’m being honest, I really don’t know how I got here. I was at the most recent Vacant Nobodies Prose Reading at Mây Bar on Dundas Street, feeling a little tipsy, and I said to a friend and fellow poet, “Come September, I’d really like to get more involved in the literary scene in Toronto.” He laughed and replied, “Yeah, because you’re so out of touch, right?” His sarcasm was accurate. I wasn’t out of touch. I was very much in touch. I was so in touch that people noticed when I didn’t attend a poetry event. I was so in touch, I became a co-organizer of the most diverse reading series in the city, Shab-e She’r. 

I’ve spent four years at the University of Toronto. I’ve met many young, emerging student writers who feel ready to share their creative work, to seek feedback and advice from others, but don’t know where to go or whom to turn to. UofT has a reputation for being large, overwhelming, and isolating—the information is there, but often students don’t know what they don’t know and so they don’t ask. Regarding involvement in the literary community on and off campus, I appreciate when students, in spite of this unique academic isolation, reach out for help. I try to reach out to them first, if I can. 

The first thing I ask emerging student writers is what they’re looking for. Do they want to share work? Do they want feedback on their work? Do they just want to hear great work by emerging artists? Do they want to publish their work? After they’ve determined what their goals are, I tell students to start within their campus to find clubs and events that cater to their needs and goals. Do they need a creative writing group? Do they want to go to an open mic? Do they want to get involved with a campus magazine editorial board? Do they want to meet other, more established writers for advice? These groups and activities on campus are vital not only for engaging in the university community (which I advise all students to do, writing-related or not), but potentially for forming writing circles and making genuine friends. One of the most insidious stereotypes about writers is their introversion, but interacting with like-minded, supportive writers can only help. 

Since my second year at UofT, I have been involved, in one way or another, with the Hart House Literary and Library Committee. The Committee is in charge of the Hart House Library and hosts a variety of literary events, including panels and professional development workshops on preparing your work for submission, getting published, finding a literary agent, and author talks. The Committee also oversees the Hart House Review, a renowned Canadian student magazine, and the Hart House Literary contests. The Writer’s Co-op, the creative writing group run by the Literary and Library Committee, was my introduction into the literary world on campus. Two years after my first introduction to the Committee, I was facilitating the group. 

Students, if they wish, can limit themselves to on-campus organizations. They certainly have enough going on, between classes and clubs. In my experience, many people only attend a creative writing workshop or occasionally go to an open mic. But for students who have a bit more time or flexibility, or for non-students, I would encourage attending, at least once, an off-campus literary reading or event. Toronto is quite diverse in this area, as I gleefully discovered. But it doesn’t have to feel like diving into a cold pool. 

Here, I recommend using social media, Facebook especially. Many reading series—and even campus organizations—use Facebook to advertise events. Facebook itself offers the option to search events by type and area, opening doors for exploration. Liking the Facebook pages of Toronto publishers and magazines gives you access to their events and launches. Attending these events can expose students to new work and great people, even potential mentors. Many Toronto reading series and monthly/weekly writing groups also have frequently updated Facebook pages. Some of these reading series have open mics, which are good places to simultaneously share work and practice public speaking.  

In my opinion, the more that emerging writers attend events, give feedback, and support their fellow writers, the more they will be drawn into and feel welcomed by this vibrant and diverse community. As with UofT and its services and resources, I found the Toronto literary community to be one where effort and engagement on the part of the individual is crucial. If one wants to be involved, one must be serious about being involved. Since, however, attending events alone or reading work onstage is scary and nerve-wracking for some, I sometimes offer my presence at these events for someone who is attending for the first time. I also introduce them to the people I know. Better yet, checking the specific Facebook event’s list of attendees is a good way to find company for going to a reading. Even knowing one other person at an event makes a difference. 

Like I said, I’m not sure how I got here, but I don’t want to discredit the work I did, nor do I want to disregard the individuals who welcomed me into the literary communities. I am greatly insecure about my own work, but I share and publish anyway. I think being 23 years old makes me liable to not be taken seriously, but I attend events regardless, introduce myself, and add people on Facebook. A friend of mine—a speculative fiction writer whose book is coming out next year—jokes that I know “everyone in the universe,” because of my ability to navigate these literary spheres. He claims he has gone to events I’m absent from, mentioned my name, and has met new writers from within my circle this way. I doubt this, but it is nice to hear. 

I’m not, by any means, an expert. There are, of course, literary communities that I’m not familiar with, such as the slam poetry community, but that just means I have more to learn, more places to go. And the more places I go, the more I can help others and pay it forward. 

Sharing Work (not exhaustive)  

Draft Toronto 

Firefly Creative Writing 

Inkwell Workshops 

Toronto Reading Series (not exhaustive) 

 Facilitate 

Vacant Nobodies 

Pivot 

Emerging Writers (EW) 

Boneshaker 

Shab-e She’r 

Legible Intelligibles 

Art Bar 

Rowers Reading Series 

Facebook Groups/Pages that post other events (not exhaustive) 

Hart House Literary and Library Committee 

Writing in Basalt 

Creative Writing at the University of Toronto