Hi! I’m Sheniz

Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been in love with stories– telling them, writing them and hearing them.  It was because of this love that I began to explore my own story, leading me to develop my own practice as a  poet, artist educator and nature artist. I had the luck of being part of the first cohort to graduate from MFA in Creative Writing at the University of Guelph, where I learned how to become a more nuanced writer. Since then, I’ve published three collections of poetry: Bleeding Light (Mawenzi House, 2010) Firesmoke (Mawenzi House, 2014) and my most recent collection, Reminders on the Path (Mawenzi House, 2021).

I’ve had the gift of performing my spoken word all over the world, including the Jaipur Literature Festival, Aga Khan Museum, and Vancouver Writers Fest. As artists always seek to evolve, I began to create nature art and sand art as a complementary practice to my writing.  My art has been featured across Turtle Island including the Art Gallery of Mississauga and the National Arts Centre.

After many years of performing and teaching, I received the Birkenshaw-Fleming Creative Teaching Scholarship to complete my Artist Educator Mentor certification at the Royal Conservatory (Toronto). I have the pleasure of teaching poetry and nature art to children, adults and seniors and it’s always a privilege to share in their stories. In 2022, I had the gift of serving as UTSC’s Writer-in-Residence, where I mentored students and facilitated creative writing workshops. At the moment, I’m an instructor at the University of Toronto’s School of Continuing Studies, teaching…you guessed it! Poetry and Nature Writing.

I’m currently working on my next book, How to Scare the Birds, a collection of creative nonfiction essays exploring the intersections of identity, ecological and personal grief, and the language of place across Kenya and Canada.

I hope that our stories intertwine and you find a little inspiration here. Thanks for visiting!

Questions? Email me at write@shenizjanmohamed.com