CO FOUNDER & POET

Daniella (she/her) is the co-founder of Poesy, Canada’s first agency for poets. In September 2022, she launched Poesy as an experiential platform for creative expression with a mission to bring the art of poetry into everyday experiences. As a former broadcast writer for global brands and celebrity clientele, Daniella’s words have captivated arena-sized audiences across the world. Today, she’s bringing that magic to eye level with intimate poetic experiences that connect and inspire people from all walks of life (not only “the literary type”). Through Poesy, Daniella invites you to engage with poetry in an interactive, relatable way – proving that poetry can be a celebratory medium for connection, reflection and collective expression.

CO FOUNDER & POET

Hannah (she/her) is the co founder of Poesy. With a Master’s in Global Affairs, Hannah has been writing for and about people of all backgrounds in both her personal life and career. Seeking more creativity outside of the corporate realm, Hannah embraced poetry and has never looked back. Fluent in GTA dialect and Vancouver slang, Hannah co-founded Poesy for creatives who don't see themselves in high culture or academic jargon. Rejecting the notion that art must be obscure, she uses long-form poetry to tell personal and political stories with serious and satirical tones. She uses her eloquent and vulgar vocabulary to break the archetypal limits of being a young woman in the 21st century.

POET

Martin Gomes (he/they) is an Afro/Latino, queer writer & composer born & based in downtown Toronto. Their poetry has allowed them to work with organizations such as CBC, Sony, TOLive, DesignTO, The Meridian Arts Centre, Withrow Common Art Gallery, The Harbourfront Centre, and the TTC in partnership with Poems in Passage. Poetry has taken Martin all over the GTA as an Artist Facilitator with organizations like Thrive Youth, Unity Charity, VIBEArts, and JAYU. As a performer, he’s graced stages in Toronto like Bluma Appel Theatre, Soho House, and Nuit Blanche, as well as stages in Ottawa and Lisbon. With their art, he hopes to set an example of authenticity and empathy wherever possible in an attempt to spread messages of loving each other even through all the noise.

POET

Andrea Josic (she/they) is a Bosnian-Canadian poet, journalist, and arts educator. As the current Poet Laureate of the City of Mississauga (2024 to 2026), she is an award-winning writer with work found at Meridian Arts Centre, Whippersnapper Gallery, CBC Radio, TTC and Poems in Passage, This Magazine, Xtra, and more. Competing in national and international poetry slams for nearly 10 years, they were the champion of the 2020 Toronto Poetry Slam and 2019 Feminine Empowerment Movement Slam. Through writing that explores themes and intersections of girlhood, queerness, gender, disability, diaspora, and mental health, and as a leader in schools and communities across Canada, Andrea hopes to cultivate joy, healing, and belonging in their work. Andrea writes in English, Serbian and Croatian.

POET & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT MANAGER

Amana (she/her) is a multi-faceted artist who uses words as medicine to weave connection within the community by creating healing spaces through art. She achieves this through organizing and curating events in Toronto for artists to heal through their work and share their stories. She is the co-creator of The Artist Playground and co-curator of Poetry Decoded two new and upcoming community organizations. She expresses her poetry in multiple mediums such as painting, film, and performance with the hopes of making others feel seen through a reflection of her own journey.

POET & SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER

Desiree Mckenzie is an award-winning multidisciplinary artist, poet, arts educator, and national poetry slam champion. Her poetry and voice have been featured in works for CBC’s Poetic License, Clearco Financial, Button Poetry, Kids Help Phone, and Home Depot. She facilitates community poetry programming for organizations like VIBE Arts, Unity Charity and the Toronto Public Library. In December 2022, she opened for Rupi Kaur on her world tour stop at Massey Hall. While taking inspiration from her experience as a Black and Indo-Caribbean woman, she hopes her poetry can tap into the little things that make us, us.

POET

Bianca Modi (she/her) is a South Asian-Canadian writer who uses storytelling as a tool for political resistance and personal transformation. Her first book, The Art of Creation, poetically paints her experiences as a South Asian woman in the diaspora, highlighting familial, mental health, and systemic challenges. Her work as co-founder of the Stay Woke Organization encourages social and political awareness through art by hosting community events for youth creators. She continues to explore words as a tool to shift perspectives, including her own, in the futile (or hopeful) attempt to rewrite the world as we know it.

POET

My name is Kasra Kooshafar, also known as kaswithlove, and I am a local writer, poet, and event organizer. I've been writing for over a decade, inspired by the power and resiliency of self expression, to turn emotions and thoughts into art. My writing is filled with analogies and metaphors to nature, life, love, and self-discovery. For the past year I have been performing and organizing poetry events, having collobrated and worked with beautiful artists across Toronto. One of my greatest achievements has been my self-published book Realizations that I’ve had the honor of putting on display in numerous stores across the city.

POET

Federica Chacón Domínguez (she/her) is a Latin writer born in Venezuela and based in downtown Toronto. She has nurtured a very close relationship with words since she started sharing her poetry during her teenage years. She also wrote for a feminist magazine and co-hosted a radio segment based on her column. She currently writes poetry for her newsletter and is an excited participant in the poetry community in the city. Her main influences are Julio Cortázar and Gabriel García Marquez. Her father is an artist, and though she was never much of a painter, she deeply enjoys playing with imagery in her work. She writes in English and Spanish (with the occasional French flair).

POET

Pujita Verma (she/her) is an Indo-Canadian poet and illustrator. She served a term as Mississauga’s Youth Poet Laureate (2018-20) and was a Poetry in Voice National Finalist. Last year, she received literary arts awards from the League of Canadian Poets, the Mississauga Arts Council, the University of Toronto SCS, and the Eden Mills Writer’s Festival.Pujita’s work has appeared across the TTC Network (Poems in Passage), on CBC’s The National, in Poetry Pause, the Emerge! Chapbook (PS Guelph, 2023), and more.

POET & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT MANAGER

Ogen Kanu (she/her) is a metaphysical poet, content writer, and visual artist currently based in Toronto. Guided by her fundamental belief in the interconnectedness of all beings, Ogen's creative exploration delves into our relationship to one another, the mysticism of existence, the subconscious, and our place in space. Her poetry, performed in various venues across the city, serves as a medium to illuminate these themes. Ultimately, Ogen aims to build a more positive and grounded society through her work.

POET

Ramneek Panchi (she/her) is a philosophical poet. Growing up she struggled to make sense of the world and human nature, so she dedicated herself to the arts to understand exactly this. She is now a published and performative poet who thrives off capturing the human experience through the soulful understanding of personal and external connections. In conjunction with writing, she is passionate about social justice and is an active member of DMA Invest, The John Howard Society, and her own creation; ACE. Ramneek aspires to communicate deep emotions through writing and piano, in hopes that her work will resonate with fellow passionate hearts.

POET

Eman Ayaz is a Pakistani-Canadian poet, actor, and musician. Her first poem was written at the age of 6 in a burst of inspiration, struck on an otherwise ordinary afternoon by the beautiful yet transient nature of life. To this day, she continues to cultivate that child-like wonder into her creative practice, hoping to breed connection through vulnerability and play. Her poetry touches on themes of love, loss, mental health, divinity and existentialism: She melds the personal and the universal, inviting readers to reflect spiritually on their lived experiences.

POET

Mariana Merino (she/her) is a Mexican poet who resides in Toronto. Always full of words, she pursued poetry as a means to forge deeper connections with others. Fascinated by the craft of writing and the rhythm of language, she draws significant inspiration from Pablo Neruda. Her journey into poetry began as a personal exploration but soon evolved into a public sharing of her work, allowing her to connect with a broader audience through the power of verse. Mariana's writing style is both imaginative and reflective, often incorporating allusions to nature, life, and philosophy. She has made her mark through spoken word performances and participation in artistic events, aiming to bridge the gap between the community and poetry. Mariana writes in English and Spanish.

POET

Nadine Mürvet Elashy (she/her) is a Palestinian-Turkish poet, spoken word artist, and activist. With her passion for navigating emotional turmoil through poetry, Nadine explores mental health and her cultural roots, fostering connections with her audience. Fluent in English and Turkish, she utilizes free verse poetry to transform her narratives of love and pain into poetic expressions. Nadine has graced numerous open mics, rallies, and vigils, challenging norms for authentic liberation. Graduating with the McMaster Creative Writing & Narrative Arts certification, she served as a representative for McMaster Unspoken (2021-2023). Now, she represents Stay Woke NPO, collaborating with universities across Ontario to help youth embrace socio-political and interpersonal consciousness through art. Her upcoming poetry book, "The Precipice of Nonexistence," debuts in 2025.

POET

Majnoona (She/Her) is a spoken word poet and arts organizer that uses her craft to empower others to reclaim their traumas. Inspired by spoken word, conscious rap, Sufi music and Urdu poetry, she merges these genres to create her own unique and cohesive style. Majnoona speaks about themes ranging from abuse, poverty, sexism, and more by using literary and performance art techniques. Her performances are about decolonizing healing, the relationship between mental health and spirituality, and the empowerment of women. Majnoona founded Raunaq Connects which is an arts organization for South Asian women and nonbinary artists to develop professionally. Majnoona writes in English, Urdu, and Hindi.

POET

Shanukha Thivyanath (she/her) is a queer, first-generation Tamil Canadian poet, midwife, RCM graduated musician and trained dancer. Her passion for addressing health care inequities, navigating the multiple intersections of health, led her to practicing midwifery care, where she provides accessible care to marginalized, racialized, and non-insured communities in Tkaronto. Her equal passion for the arts can be seen through her extensive musical theatre and choreographer/dance performance background, as well as performing original poetry and music at several events over the past decade in Ontario. In 2022, Shanukha published her first poetry excerpt entitled, “Exothermia”, a collection that truly encapsulates her dual love for arts and science, while paying homage to her identity, struggles, and culture. Shanukha looks forward to making genuine connections with folks through poetry in both English and Tamil.