Celebrate three outstanding works of poetry from Talonbooks authors! Whether tackling latter-day anxieties through country music, tracing the history of the number zero in an experimental hybrid work, or examining the overlapping circles of shame and pleasure, these collections are sure to inspire thought, awe, and delight.
Hot off the press, No Depression in Heaven by ryan fitzpatrick dwells on whether it’s best to look backward to a seemingly better past, longing for a way to make things great again, or to stare into the abyss of the future, gambling that entry into paradise will provide release. No Depression in Heaven pulls on its boots, tilts its hat, and brushes the dust off its Nudie suit before tipping language out of key, asking how we respond to bad times and what it means to hold onto something toxic because of the comforts it affords.
No Signal No Noise by A Jamali Rad follows Zero, our protagonist, who stumbles upon a mysterious manuscript that sends them journeying across centuries, continents, and concepts. They travel throughout the Muslim world, from Sumeria to India to Baghdad. They learn about Europe as other and outside. They’re guided by the cryptic mirror the manuscript provides as it traces a history of the number zero.
The debut collection Revolutions by Hajer Mirwali sifts through the grains of Muslim daughterhood to reveal two metaphorical circles inextricably overlapping: shame and pleasure. Revolutions asks how young Arab women – who live in homes and communities where actions are surveilled and categorized as 3aib or not 3aib, shameful or acceptable – make and unmake their identities.
A Talonbooks Reading
Flying Books College Street
Toronto, ON
November 13, 2025
Doors are at 6:30 p.m. EST.
