Montreal Serai

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Montreal Serai

Montreal Serai is a not-for-profit webzine focused on arts, culture and politics. For Submission guidelines, please visit http://montrealserai.com/submissions/

We began as a local theatre and arts collective that went on to produce a print magazine. Montreal Serai aims to stretch the margins with thoughtful essays, reviews, commentaries, short stories, poems, artwork, videos, music and much more. Neither strictly local, nor only current affairs, we hope to provide an alternative perspective that goes beyond mainstream concerns. We have had over 400 contributors from all over the world in our 26 year existence and an ever-increasing subscription base.

12/20/2025

2026 is almost here! Submissions are open for Montréal Serai magazine's 40th anniversary themes (description reveals coming soon):

* Hope Has Two Daughters
* Just Peace, Just Healing
* Adornment as Armour
* Bringing the Margins to the Other Margins

Send your submission to our Editorial Board using our form: https://forms.gle/CGFRqftyMwb63W7k7

12/18/2025

Camélia Bakouri's review of the art of Sfiya in Montréal Serai magazine, ‘“Sous un Nouvel Œil”: Reflecting on Migration, Identity and the Language of the Evil Eye,' was the 2025 winner of the Ingrid Semaan Prize, awarded by the Institute of Islamic Studies, McGill University, to the student with the most outstanding thesis, essay, or term paper exploring the contribution of women to Arabic culture. Read Bakouri's evocative reflections upon Sfiya's haunting work.

https://montrealserai.com/article/sous-un-nouvel-oeil-reflecting-on-migration-identity-and-the-language-of-the-evil-eye/

"The Montréal metro, much like migration, offers a clear starting point and a potential end destination, but in between, one is caught in an undefined, ambiguous space. It reflects the emotional journey of identity—an ongoing search that is difficult to understand and even harder to express. The metro symbolizes this transitory space where individuals are suspended in a continuous quest for belonging, both within themselves and within their new environments. The question remains, will we ever arrive at our destination?"

Art © Sfiya: 1) El ghorba 2) Daba Tzyan

12/08/2025

Monday Dec. 8 at 7 pm: The Lectures Logos Readings team invites you to its next session which will be held on Monday December 8, 2025 at the UNIA Hall, 2741 Notre-Dame West, Montréal, QC H3J 1N9, 7-9 pm. The guest readers are: Nicole Swann, Clayton Bailey, Stéphane Maretelly, Sena, Kaleel John, and Wilson Edmond. There’ll be an open-mic session as well with spaces for eight readers and an end-of-year potluck celebration.

11/30/2025

On November 23rd at Teesri Duniya Theatre, we of Montréal Serai honoured the 3 candidates for the 2025 Rana Bose Memorial Grant: performance artist and filmmaker Atif Siddiqui, visual artist Naghmeh Sharifi, and the 2025 Rana Bose Memorial Grant awardee, Sri Theyvi! Congratulations to all three!

1. Sri Theyvi and their artwork!
2. Atif Siddiqui talking about their recent album Transgression, and their short film, Beauty Is Revenge.
3. Naghmeh Sharifi discussing her award-winning visual art and installations.
4. Sri Theyvi told us about their community-centred artwork, truck painting, and mural.
5. Longtime Serai founding member Himmat Singh Shinhat made a land acknowledgement, and gave a warm welcome.
6. Teesri Duniya Theatre Creative Director and friend of Rana Bose, Rahul Varma, gave Teesri's land acknowledgement, and welcomed guests into the theatre space.
7. Serai Senior Editor Jody Freeman introduced a video from the 2024 Rana Bose Memorial Grant awardee, Nada El-Omari, recorded in Cairo.
8. Serai board member Dipti Gupta read a poem by Rana Bose, and her own verses in response.
9. We look forward to working with Sri Theyvi, and honour all of our amazing candidates for the Rana Bose Memorial Grant. Rana would be proud.

All photos by Paul Eifert.

11/14/2025

Rana Bose Memorial Grant Award Ceremony

Join us to celebrate Montréal Serai magazine's new artist in residence for 2026 and shortlisted candidates!

Sunday, November 23, 2025, 2 to 4 p.m.

Teesri Duniya Theatre
251 Ave. des Pins O.
Montréal

Let us know if you have special needs: [email protected]

Meet the three finalists for the Rana Bose Memorial Grant.
In alphabetical order:

• Atif Siddiqi
• Naghmeh Sharifi
• Sri Theyvi

Have refreshments with the Serai community and our hosts at Teesri Duniya Theatre! Friends and family welcome.

11/02/2025

Tiohtiá:ke/Montréal-based artist Emma Haraké illustrates her translation of her Arabic reflection on Beirut during the Israeli aggression against Lebanon. "Where the Gaze Breaks" is her signature piece for Montréal Serai magazine's 2025 theme "Lost Spaces," for which she is Theme Editor with Pasha M. Khan. View and read Emma's beautiful work at https://montrealserai.com/article/where-the-gaze-breaks/.

"This story begins from a great height, from the cold gaze of a satellite eye, then gradually descends into the quiet details of a home: a balcony, a living room, a drawer, a photo of a woman holding a child. As the lens shifts, more is revealed … until we arrive at an amulet that protects what remains."

10/10/2025

Who are the drummers whose beat reminds Montrealers that Palestine is almost free? Drummer and McGill student Karla Stephan raps out the stories of these musicians, centring her narrative on two fixtures of the protest scene: Mo and Yashar. Read her article now on Montréal Serai magazine, in our theme "Navigating Chaos."

https://montrealserai.com/article/the-heartbeat-of-the-montreal-intifada/

"In a nutshell, drumming at Palestinian protests in Montréal has been more than rhythm; it is a declaration of presence, unity, and resistance. Yashar's and Mo's complementary styles--Yashar's bold, structural rhythms and Mo's intricate cultural expressions--create a soundscape that keeps the movement alive. Together, they embody the heartbeat of the Montréal intifada, proving that resistance can be both powerful and transformative through rhythm and community. Drumming is an act of defiance in itself, making ourselves heard so that we can be seen."

Photos © Iyad Tchelebi.

10/03/2025

Tomorrow (Sat. Oct. 4) at 2 pm - near Pl. des art metro, 1400 St-Urbain

10/02/2025

With lyrical skill, Saarah Jabar tells the story of her family's history between Guyana and Québec in her article in Montréal Serai magazine:

How to Inhabit the Uninhabitable

In our theme "Lost Spaces."

A student at McGill University, Saarah aspires towards the preservation of marginalized voices through archival work and research. Read her article at https://montrealserai.com/article/how-to-inhabit-the-uninhabitable/. You won't regret it!

(Family photos courtesy Saarah Jabar.)

09/30/2025

Every child matters.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/x7P4gx2F2jUX2xJQ8

09/29/2025

1:00 Tuesday at the tam tams

09/27/2025

Ponder Montréal Serai magazine's tale "People of the Elephant" by Muhammad Sarfaraz Manji, a meditative story of a boy's imagination and empathy in the presence of a pachyderm. Muhammad is a maths researcher and a newcomer in Montreal. He writes about logic, identity and agency in the postcolonial world. Read his short fiction in our theme "Lost Spaces." https://montrealserai.com/article/people-of-the-elephant/

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We began as a local theatre and arts collective that went on to produce a print magazine. Montreal Serai aims to stretch the margins with thoughtful essays, reviews, commentaries, short stories, poems, artwork, videos, music and much more. Neither strictly local, nor only current affairs, we hope to provide an alternative perspective that goes beyond mainstream concerns. We have had over 400 contributors from all over the world in our 31 year existence and an ever-increasing subscription base. For Submission guidelines, please visit http://montrealserai.com/submissions/