Postponed - Shane Koyczan
There are artists who wait for doors to open — and then there are those who kick them in. In the rise of Spoken Word’s popularity, that door cannot be discussed without naming Shane Koyczan.
In 2010, the world witnessed Koyczan’s prodigious talent at the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, a stand-out performance that shone a light on this street poet from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Even while once inches from living on the street, Shane was creating powerful work such as To This Day, a video with 24 million views that is used worldwide in classrooms and in speech and forensic competitions.
His second book, Stickboy, was adapted into an opera by Vancouver Opera. His voice has been sought by luminaries like George Miller, who collaborated with him on Mad Max: Fury Road. Koyczan also created Shoulders, touring it with David Suzuki as part of The Blue Dot Tour advocating for environmental rights.
A collaborator with artists including Ani DiFranco, Dan Mangan and Tanya Tagaq, Koyczan has elevated Spoken Word from after-hour cafés to international stages. His fiercely honest TED Talk further highlights the humanity and authenticity he brings to every performance.
Beyond poetry, Shane invited audiences into family trauma with the 2017 documentary Shut Up And Say Something, which won Most Popular Documentary at the Vancouver International Film Festival.
After critical success in publishing, he carved his own path by launching Stickboy Press. Its first release, A Bruise On Light, raised $91,154 from 1,688 backers — a Guinness World Record for the most money raised through crowdfunding for a poetry book. He followed with graphic novels Silence Is A Song I Know All The Words To and Turn On A Light.
Recently, Shane released The Basement In My Attic and, with Theytus Books, published Inconvenient Skin, exploring Canada’s history of residential schools and the treatment of Indigenous people.
An artist who transcends genre, Shane Koyczan continues to explore the difficult terrain of human experience with humour, honesty and heart — daring audiences to discover what it truly means to be human.