The team for The Beautiful and the Damned (Duncan Armstrong, Dianne Moore, Philip Cairns and Lizzie Violet) see themselves as “the enfant terrible of the spoken word/poetry scene” in Toronto.

The show, held on the second Thursday of every month, wants “to be a little more edgy than the other poetry events around town. Many of our performers are from the LGBTT community,” says B & D team member Lizzie Violet. “We also have a musical feature each month. Drag has also been incorporated in our shows, as well as performance art.  As a queer positive reading series we want to not only bring awareness to the community but also feature some of its well known and loved artists.”

Although B & D is not “a queer event, per se” according to Violet, “we aren’t afraid to try new things. To be more irreverent and sexual…