Alfaaz means, simply, words. And words, read aloud and in good company, are the whole of what we’re after this month.
On the evening of July 26, The Irony Club is opening the mic again, and this time we’re widening it considerably. It will run the way an open mic ought to: you bring a piece and read it, and meet people, old and new.
Here is what’s different this time.
What kind of an Ironist are You?
Read to us in the language you think in. We’ve come to believe that meaning is only half of what a poem does. The other half is sound, the rhythm of it, the weight of a word, the particular music a sentence only makes in its first language. We don’t need a room that understands every syllable to be understood. So bring your Tamil, your Hindi, your Urdu, your Bengali, Punjabi, Malayalam, French, whatever tongue the piece was born in. Translations are welcome too.
And it needn’t be a poem or a page of prose. Spoken word, a couplet, a monologue, a play, a song, a translation, all that has a place at this mic.
We are here simply to hear your work out loud, in good company, and to return the favour by listening well to everyone else. If you’d rather not read at all, that’s a fine way to spend the evening too.
The details:
July 26, 2026 · Doors open 5:30 PM Mayil Coffee, 870 College St, Toronto
- Readings in any language warmly welcome
- Prose, poetry, spoken word, song, translation — and forms yet unclassified
- A few minutes (2-5) each at the mic
- Sign-ups at the venue welcome
- Come to read, or simply to listen
- Conversation guaranteed, before and after
Seats are limited and tend to disappear, so it’s worth booking ahead. Tickets are $20, through Mayil:
https://mayilcoffee.com/product/mayil-alfaaz-with-irony-club-july-26/
We hope you drop in and enjoy some good company, or at the very least, a very good cup of coffee.
