ROLL (Read Out Loud Love) — 2026 Edition at FUNK Coffee

Accès

À propos

ROLL (Read Out Loud Love) is a monthly open mic poetry night rooted in tenderness, community, and shared language. Held at FUNK Coffee (1025 Dunsmuir St, Vancouver), ROLL invites everyone—first-timers, seasoned poets, and passionate listeners—to gather and speak the words that move them, whether they’re original poems or beloved pieces by other writers.

This 2026 edition continues to center an intimate, inclusive evening of spoken word in a queer-welcoming space. We begin with a gentle writing warm-up to ease into the creative flow, followed by an open mic where anyone is invited to read aloud. You don’t have to consider yourself a performer! if you’ve ever underlined a passage in a book or jotted a thought in your notes app, you’ll feel right at home here.

ROLL is multilingual and welcomes readings in any language. Non-English speakers are warmly invited to share in Spanish, French, Indigenous languages, or any language that holds meaning for them. Translation is not required—listening across languages is part of the experience.

ROLL is free, participatory, and built around emotional presence. We prioritize softness, care, and artistic vulnerability. Attendees often describe the night as “nourishing” and “brave”; a space where poetry becomes a way to feel less alone.

Whether you come to share or simply to listen, you’ll leave having witnessed something real, vulnerable, powerful, and beautifully human.

Organisateur

Mara Alvarez

Mara Álvarez is a Mexican-Canadian poet, photographer, and community arts organizer based in Vancouver. Her work explores migration, belonging, tenderness, and shared cultural memory. She has been included in a Mexican poetry anthology and was recently selected as one of the winning writers at FENALEM, recognizing her emerging voice within contemporary Spanish-language literature.

In early 2024, she founded ROLL (Read Out Loud Love), a monthly open mic poetry night centered on belonging, spoken word, and collective care. The event invites people of all backgrounds to share poems that resonate with them—whether their own or by writers they admire. ROLL is free, queer-welcoming, and intentionally designed as a soft, low-pressure space where creativity and vulnerability are celebrated.

Through ROLL, Mara connects with local writers, multilingual readers, and emerging artists to build community around poetry and shared voice. The project is rooted in the belief that art doesn’t need to be polished or formal to be meaningful; It simply needs to be shared.

This 2026 edition continues that vision: creating accessible, participatory spaces that welcome multiple languages, honor diverse lived experiences, and remind us how deeply human it is to speak, to listen, and to be moved together.

Contact

Partenaires

FUNK funk.coffee