Toronto Poetry Festival in Taylor Creek Park heard from poets in both Bengali and English
By PARVEZ CHOWDHURY
The Toronto Poetry Festival held recently in Taylor Creek Park was inaugurated by renowned Bangladeshi elocutionist Vaswar Bandyopadhyay.
The festival took place on Saturday, Sept. 13, in the park’s serene, natural setting under open skies.
The opening ceremony featured welcome remarks from acclaimed English-language Canadian poet Pat Conners and Canadian intellectual and essayist Terry Barker. On behalf of the festival organizing committee, poet Kazi Helal delivered the official address.
The day-long festival was emceed by recitation artists Mary Rashedin and Sampurna Saha, who guided the audience through programs in both Bengali and English.
The festival featured powerful group recitations by Toronto’s Bengali-language collectives, including Bachonik, Onnoswor, Uttor-er Janala, and the Writers Club. The program was also highlighted by solo recitations from a diverse array of artists, including Suman Malik, Marjia Mou, Dilara Nahar Babu, Anisa Rashid Lucky, Suraiya Urmi, Naima Siddiqua, Aruna Haider, Munia Mili, Julia Nasrin, Ainun Afroze, Flora Suchi DRozario, and Syeda Ammatul Fatema Roze.
A distinguished lineup of poets presented their work including former Toronto Poet Laureate and Canadian Parliamentary Poet Laureate George Elliott Clarke, alongside Jamil Rayhan, Pat Conners, Bazlus Shahid, Giovanno Ricco, Sheuli Jahan, Richard Green, Taslima Islam, Karen Shenfeld, Ritushree Ghosh, Honey Novick, Saikat Rushdie, Rocco de Giacomo, Badal Ghosh, Mostofa Hoq, and Karl Fliesser.
Additional reflections were offered by visual artist Syed Iqbal, authors Suman Rahman and Subrata Kumar Das, Sadi Mohammad, and playwright Habibullah Dulal.
The festival’s closing remarks were delivered by poet Mehrub Rahman.
This international gathering, a diverse confluence of multilingual poets and poetry, is set to become an annual event in Toronto.
The festival began its journey in 2024. The event’s poster was designed by Bangladeshi artist Momin Uddin Khaled, with the aesthetic stage design conceived by Kachi Rana. The Toronto Poetry Festival is curated by a team including poets Mehrab Rahman, Kazi Helal, Nayan Hafiz, and Parvez Chowdhury, alongside recitation artist Mary Rashedin.
