Common Ground Cafe

VERSES OUT LOUD A Spoken Word and Poetry Open Mic #4 , features Meena Chopra - Artist, Author & Poet & Mississauga resident.

Author and Artist Meena Chopra is an internationally known award-winning poet & visual artist with an unbridled passion for words, space, colours and forms. She writes poetry both in English and her native language Hindi and has authored three poetry collections and co-edited one anthology. 'SHE! The Restless Streak' is her third collection which showcases both her poetry and art. Her poetry has been translated into German and Urdu as well and her art and poetry both have been published in many magzines and literary journals. Amongst many other distinctions, she has recently been awarded for her distinguished work and contribution in both literature and art by National Ethnic Press And Media Council of Canada in 2018 and also by Dancing Damsels in 2019. Her painting 'SHE! The Restless Streak' won first prize in 2017 by Visual Arts Mississauga. She was a nominee for MARTY'S award this year for literature. Meena is also a qualified artist educator and has been teaching art for past 10 years. These days she is passionately teaching art to 'Special Need' students at Pixie Blue Studio in Mississauga. In the past when in India, she entrepreneured in advertising, marketing and was running an advertising agency. She has been publishing a lead Toronto based South Asian ethnic entertainment weekly called StarBuzz from 2007 to 2016 and hosting and producing an ethnic musical show at 1320AM.

Verses Out Loud features Mississauga's only current spoken word and poetry open mic series! It is presented by Mississauga Arts Council and is Hosted by Paul Edward Costa - Mississauga Poet Laureate, and co-organized with Michelle Hillyard, writer.