Believe it or not, beloved 70's stoner comedians Cheech & Chong are still keeping busy in their profession. In fact, they're about to kick off another North American tour and will be at Massey Hall on September 9th.

But before the comedy tour comes to Toronto, Tommy Chong (one half of the legendary bud-baked comedy duo) will be in Toronto to promote his newest effort - an autobiographical book Cheech & Chong: An Unauthorized Biography.

blogTO has three hardcover copies of the book to pass on to fans. Continue reading for full contest and event details.

In this edition of "10 things" we talk with David Silverberg, the extremely busy host of the monthly poetry slam at The Drake, about poetry, Mike Myers, basketball and the freelance lifestyle:

Grownups Read Things They Wrote As Kids (GRTTWAK) is happening again Monday night, so get out that old shoebox and get ready to share your treasures from childhood with a bar full of like-minded others at this open mic reading series.

The brainchild of Dan Misener, GRTTWAK enables us to take a nostalgic trip by delving into the often embarrassing bits of poetry and prose we wrote as kids.

Misener got an email a few weeks ago from his mom, saying, "Came across a Rubbermaid tote with an orange popple and more of your writings. The Ron Trilogy, Putrid Poems and some other poems."

Here's an example from Misener at age 11:

Little Jack Horner,
Sat in the corner,
Eating his purple pie.
He stuck in his thumb,
And pulled out a thing,
He couldn't identify.

Continue reading for more grownup fun and details of the evening's event...

In this week's roundup of Toronto's literary events: Discovering the scent of the moon, political lectures as theatre scripts, copyright and fair use, and a whole lot more screaming at the Scream Festival.

Tuesday, July 8

We've written a lot about author and illustrator Patricia Storms before here on blogTO, but if you haven't had the chance to check out her work just yet, she'll be at TPL's Barbara Frum Branch this afternoon at 2pm as part of the Toronto Public Library Summer Reading Club.

Also on Tuesday:

• Heather Haley, Terence Go, and Luciano Iacobelli feature at the Art Bar Poetry Series at Clinton's at 8pm.
• The Lexiconjury Reading Series returns as part of the Scream Festival, featuring individual and collaborative poetry, at The Pilot at 8pm.
   

In this week's roundup of Toronto's literary events: A whole lotta screaming going on as the Scream Festival kicks off this week.

Tuesday, July 1

Yolanda T Marshall invites everyone to her launch party, A Poetic Journey into the Mind of Miss Marshall, which features readings, dances, and performances by Cloud 9 Co-op. The launch will be followed by an afterparty hosted by DJ MelBoogie from CKLN. It all goes down at Nile Bar & Lounge at 7pm.

Also on Tuesday:

• Tanya Davis, Ronda Eller, and Klyde Broox feature at the Art Bar Poetry Series at Clinton's at 8pm.
   

Pride Week often makes me think of everything from the somewhat clichéd rainbow-coloured flags, to Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, to guys so ripped they make me question my own sexuality. The literary event Proud Voices, in partnership with Word on the Street, was a great way to experience the best of both worlds.You haven't heard storytelling until you've heard it like this - with colour and a contemporary twist.

Hosted by Toronto Poetry Slam veteran Arianna Pozzuoli, there was a stellar line-up of Toronto's literary scene, coupled with crowd-favourites such as Yukon golden child Ivan E. Coyote as well as Christina Starr, activist and queer parent who took us on an adventure through topics covering gender, femininity and fairytales.