Impensive Readers
A different approach to reading together
Shouldn’t there be
a better way
for us to share
what we read?
Combined with the pace of modern life, the opportunity to read something for pleasure seems to be continuously decreasing. After all, reading tends to involve more than the act itself—there’s the effort it takes to carving enough space out of the week, and finding a sufficient amount of energy to do it.
The desire to read is seldom the problem. The problem that confronts most of us is time. There’s never enough of it. It’s always in short supply. Many of us would love to be reading more—but, at the end of the day, picking up a book can feel like a weighty proposition—even another chore.
Impensive Readers offer a way to approach reading as an activity with low demand on your time. Our groups assume that reading is more valuable when its shared, and when it doesn’t bring and additonal demand to an already busy week. Rather than joining another book club that’s destined to lose its momentum, Impensive Readers offers groups for you to sit down with an intimate group of like minded peers, encounter a curated selection of work that can be digested in a single sitting, and then sharing a discussion without preparing in advance.
Rather than approaching to reading as a form of homework, or treating “literary” appreciation as a rarified experience with a barrier to entry, what if having a meaningful encounter with reading culture reading was simply a matter of showing up? Not only that, what if that encounter could begin, take place, and wrap up—all within a single evening? The experience on offer is reading something new then sharing a low-stakes but meaningful conversation, knowing that you’ve finished what you’ve started and you’re free of any additional demands on your time.
Life’s too short . . .
reading doesn’t need to be the same.
If you happen to know what you’re looking for already . . .
Impensive Readers exist
to provide busy minds with options
What exactly is a readers group—and how is it different from a book club, or gathering with a reading circle? Essentially, it comes down to focus. Where book clubs zero in on specific authors, books, or genres of writing, a readers group puts the activity of reading as an activity that justifies itself at the center of the experience. More than that, it focuses on the time a group of readers spend sharing the experience on equal terms with their peers. Taking part in an Impensive gathering means everyone comes to the same material at once, taking the time to read thoughtfully curated work picked out by your host in advance, then sharing what they’ve encountered amongst the group in a low-stakes, seminar style discussion.
There’s no prepwork for you to worry about; no assigned homework to speak of; the only demand on your time is booking the group in advance, and showing up with a curious mind and willingness to be surprised.
Robert is your moderator and host, and responsible for all the prep-work involved. He’s also there to facilitate and guide the discussion that follows reading the selections provided on the evening. Drawing upon nearly ten years of experience as a professional writer, literary instructor, and seasoned group facilitator, he specifically choses writing that connects in interesting and provocative ways, to keep conversation moving. And in the event that the group runs out of steam, he’s happy to introduce approches similar to what you’d encounter in an academic seminar, and introduce the vocabulary that stirs up critical thinking.
To keep the model effective, groups are always small, and conducted online. Sessions are booked on weekly basis, up to fourteen days in advance. Although this means that seats are subject to availability, it also means there’s no contract to sign in blood, and you’re not married to an ongoing commitment. You’re free to attend a group when you have the time and attention to spare, and if you happen to find the experience is something your looking to be a part of on a regular basis, you’re welcome to do so—as often as you’d like.
How to classify being an Impensive Reader?
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THE WEDNESDAY READERS GROUP
The quintessential Impensive gathering. Participants gather online via Google Meet, and encounter between one and three discreet pieces of literature. Length and theme vary week to week, but selections are always complete and chosen because they can be read comfortably, from beginning to end, without rushing within the space of 55 minutes. The seminar takes place after the break, where Robert facilitates discussion, and offers some of the reasoning behind the reading choices. The seminar is open format; participation is definitely encouraged, but not pressured. There are never more than eight participants, and at the end of the evening there’s never any homework to take with you.
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ESPECIALLY QUEER & IMPENSIVE
For readers who like their authors a little bent and a lot less normative. Created with the LGBTQ2S+ community in mind, Queer & Impensive takes the Wednesday model and opens it up to larger weekly attendance (but not too large). Readings are drawn from explicitly queer writers, as wide ranging as Robert can find. Fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, and the occasional essay are all fair game. Mindful of accessibility, the cost of booking is cheaper, and there are a limited number of spots that are PWYC per week. Discussions are encouraged to be lively (though not disruptive). All pronouns and persuasions are invited to attend. Members of the community looking for an alternative way to start the weekend that doesn’t involve sportball, or involve hanging out at the bar, are especially welcome.
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PUBLIC TALKS ON LITERACY & READING
The term media literacy is thrown around an awful lot these days. There seems to be a general agreement that it goes hand in hand with critical thinking, but beyond that there’s little agreement on what—if anything—defines the term. Add to that all the ballyhoo proclaiming the death of reading and the end of history, it’s easy to think we’ve fallen right off the ledge of progress. But beyond all the LLM summaries, and AI doomsdays threatening our relationship with words, perhaps there are alternative ways to think about our relationship to reading and what it means to be a reader now that we’re well into the 21st century.
Starting in the spring of 2027, Robert will be delivering a series of open, in person lectures in Toronto, ON, with an aim to bring some of the debates around modern reading culture and critical thinking into perspective, with a bit more humour, and a lot less doomsaying than all the talking heads that drive him up the wall.
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THE POETS’ SEMINAR
During his time at the Bennington Writing Seminars, Robert was struck by how affecting he and fellow attendees found the experience of being more mature students, suddenly surrounded by a community of creative writers who had been starved of the experience. Upon returning to Toronto, he found himself motivated to recreate a version of the MFA seminar in a low stakes format for working poets, regardless of whether they are presently publishing or not.
The upcoming Poet’s Seminar will be the first time he offers this low-stakes model close to home. Rather than a writing group, the six person seminar will be focused on developing reading and providing feedback on the work of peers, and developing the language that’s necessary to discuss poetry as professional writers, rather than critics or enthusiasts.
GROUPS ON OFFER THIS SEASONA good place to start when you don’t know if you know what you want.
This is the weekly readers group, open to a bit of everything, but focused on giving all participants a chance to express their thoughts and have a conversation about writing they might not have otherwise encountered. If you’re looking to be exposed to writers and work you may not have heard of before, it’s a good bet that you’ll read something you wouldn’t have otherwise come across by attending a Wednesday group.
An intimate group that made to get into a little bit of everything, an intimate group of Wednesday readers gathers between 7–9pm, now through December 16, 2026. You can book up to two weeks in advance.
Terms and conditions apply to refunds and credit [see the link provided in the footer below].
Wednesday’s Impensive Readers
For the readers looking for lively discussion about all things bent and beautiful.
All readings will be drawn from the work of writers, authors, and poets belonging to the LGBTQ2S+ community. Emphasis will be placed on variety in subject matter, ostensible high vs. low brow content, a little dressed up smutt (here and there), possibly a little theory or writing about feelings.
Any and all pronouns and persuasions are welcome and encouraged to attend. Groups are held online every Friday, between 6–8pm, from the 30th of Oct through 18th Dec, 2026.
Fridays are Especially Queer & Impensive
Are there other groups you know you’d like to read together with?
A large part of the philosophy that led to the creation of Impensive Readers assumes that reading together does more than deepen our appreciaton of well-wrought language, in unique and pleasureable ways, but also refines and develops our ability to communcite with one another in all aspects of our lives.
Coming together to meet as a group of like minded peers necessarily improves how we think of each other as thoughtful, thinking beings†. If there is a readers group you’d like to see—or if you would like hire Robert to design and run a group that’s been designed to speak to a specific theme—we’d love to hear from you.
Additional groups are on the horizon—and hopefully introduced shortly. Your input will go towards shaping what those offerings will be, so don’t hesitiate to get in touch. Email is always welcome, but you can also reach out by phone at +1 (647) 656-2698
†It’s also an opportunity to play with words that often get treated as though they’re much too serious.
Your host and moderator . . .
Robert · R L · Powell is a published poet, writer, editor, and occasionally cracked intellectual. They’re the founding editor-in-chief of APROSEXIA LIT PUBLICATIONS, a non-profit venture dedicated to providing space, and promoting the writing, of divergent, challenged, and challenging minds. He has a Specialist BA(Hons) in English Literature from UofT; an MA in English Languages and Literatures from Queen’s University, Kingston; has received support from the Bennington Writing Seminars, Vermont; and is pursing his MFA at the VCFA, hosted at CalArts.
While they discovered a love of teaching during his time at the UofT’s Mississauga campus, but also that the university classroom wasn’t the best format for him to go about it. Robert started Impensive Readers to bring the best parts of what he’s enjoyed taking part in graduate seminars in literature—but in an accessible, low stakes format— emphasizing skills of reading and critical; things that he believes are in better supply than many people think even in an age increasingly dominated by video clips and AI summaries.
Coming in early 2027
The Poets’ Seminar
A program for working poets (published or unpublished—if you’re getting words down on the page, that’s what matters). The seminar consists of seven full day intensives in a naturing, dedicated space in downtown Toronto. The program is spread across ten weeks. Six participants will learn how to read and critique each others work in a manner befitting working writers—developing the language necessary to delve deeper into what it means to read work—whether finished or in process—mindfully with a mind on productive feedback rather than focusing on “critical” interpretation. The goal is to learn how to see your own work through the eyes of other working peers, sharing what you know, and learning what you can from one another’s skills. More than that, the process is designed to establish bonds with other writers, and provide a sense of community—something that can be challenging to find for those of us who do creative work in a predominantly solitary environment.
Further details regarding the Poets’ Seminar, including pricing, expectations, and the application process will become available over the coming weeks. Applications will be opening late November, with an aim to begin the program on the last Saturday of January, 2027.
What does it mean
to be Impensive?
Impensive is a portmanteau (two words, smashed together for the sake of producing a combinatory meaning) that Robert started doodling in the margins rather than writing more useful annotations. It takes “impatient” and “pensive,” and captures something he’s often felt but been at a loss to describe: a restless impatience to do more with what’s preoccupying his thoughts, but a lacking clearly defined ways to direct surplus attention.
It occured to him that this isn’t a feeling unique to his own experience, and has wanted to find a way to put the word to use ever since he decided it was a perfectly cromulent word, and has put it to work as a way to encapsualte what he would like provide a little relief to by creating groups to centre on readers and reading skills, rather than clubs that assume everyone who wants to get around to meeting and discussing creative works have the extra time and motivation to keep up with commitments that are meant to be a pleasure, rathan than an addtional thing to stess about or develop a feeling of falling behind.
Is there more to know about Impensive Readers? Absoluetly.You can send Robert a message here, or check out this thoughtful FAQ.