Sheniz Janmohamed is a poet, spoken word artist and freelance writer. She holds an Honours BA (with Distinction) in Religion and English Literature from the University of Toronto. She has recently completed her MFA in Creative Writing at the University of Guelph. Her thesis is a collection of literary essays that explore her triune identity as a Canadian with ancestry in India and Kenya. Her thesis advisor is national bestselling author, Janice Kulyk Keefer.
She's completed the first draft of a one (two?) act play under the mentorship of Dora Award winning playwright, David Young.
Sheniz has also had the pleasure of having her writing workshopped under Governor General award winning poet Dionne Brand and GG nominee Thomas King.
She has finished a manuscript of ghazals in English under the mentorship of Professor Kuldip Gill (UBC). Two of her ghazals have been put to music and sung by talented singer and classical musician, Tanya Jacobs.
She's also a journalist- and has interviewed an incredible group of artists, including: Richie Mehta (director of the award winning film, Amal), Mohsin Hamid (Booker Prize Nominee, Author of The Reluctant Fundamentalist), Anosh Irani (author of The Cripple and His Talismans, Dora Award-winning playwright) and Seema Biswas (Actress, Bandit Queen, Khamoshi), Purva Bedi (American Desi), R&B sensation Deesha, The Bilz & Kashif, Vishal & Shekhar,Jungli, desi rocker jsin, musical maestro Nitin Sawhney and the list continues.
She is also the founder and president of Ignite Poets, an initiative that allows young poets and spoken word artists to collaborate and work together for worthy causes. Ignite's second show, Ignite II: Unite (2004), raised funds for The World Partnership Walk. In addition to having her own spoken word initiative, Sheniz is also a promotions officer for Toronto Poets (www.torontopoets.com).
Sheniz has shared the stage with Canadian idol hopeful Devika Mathur, world class saxophonist Sundar Viswanathan, Azalea Ray (the only disciple of the legendary Farida Khanum), Andrea Nann (Dreamwalker Dance Co.) and "The Tabla Guy", Gurpreet Chana to name a few. She has been featured at events all over the city including Strong Words Reading Series, Toronto Poets' Saturday Night Love, Cryptic Chatter, underground sounds, Dishoom! South Asian Performance Festival, MMM!, Majlis Arts performance series, Small World Music Series and Hersterics.
Sheniz is currently collaborating with a number of electronica/dub artists in the UK and abroad, including Mahisha, State of Bengal and the Mosienko Project. Watch this space and witness how quickly words can spread.
FOR BOOKINGS, CONTACT: sheniz@oneroofstudios.com
well aren't i as slow as molasses. greetings my friend. so nice to see your words on my page. thanks for reachin' out. things are good here although i must confess my musical energies are more focused on my new solo record. andrew mcpherson have a listen. still lovin' the global dub vibes but gotta scratch the singer songwriter itch too. hope to see you soon.
Peace Sheniz J...dropping by to say thanks for existing, persisting, uplifting and continuing the lyrical drifting as it sifts through time to sublime peaks that delve deep into the words and sounds we speak...Aloha and Peace...Codi
Hi Shen Plenty of changes been going on here. It's all evolved for the good though. : ) Just a couple of more things to finalise this week. Will email at the weekend & bring you up to date. New tracks to follow. Peace & tings. Mos.
Hi Sheniz. Had you in mind when I started the track. Vocal samples only temporary. When I get the chance to work on it again I'll send a copy for you to work on if you want. Speak soon. G.
Hey Sweety! What's up? I just attended a great singing workshop put on by Micah Barnes, ex-Nylons singer, and vocal coach extraordinaire. I'm getting close to my core more than ever! It's going to be an amazing summer!!!!
Awesome tracks, Sheniz... really powerful with the music added in. I was quite shocked... realized today that your regular profile was on my top friends, but not this one. Hope all is well in T.O.
