Shane Koyczan’s poem, “6:59 AM,” is the closest he said he’ll ever get to writing something as beautiful as Leonard Cohen’s work.
But Koyczan is already writing, speaking, and singing words as sexy, politically charged, and beautiful as his idol.
Koyczan, 35, has been opening the doors to slam poetry and his popularity since his performance of “We Are More,” a homage to Canada, during the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
With two years of experience under his belt since that breakout, Koyczan and the Short Story Long have begun an 18-date national tour of their new album, Remembrance Year, which includes a stop at the Black Sheep Inn in Wakefield April 9.
A combination of older pieces and unheard work, Remembrance Year flows smoothly from folk melodies to rockabilly bass — all to the strength of Koyczan’s strong voice and stark wit.
The album will be followed by a new collection of poetry, Our Deathbeds Will Be Thirsty, which will be released April 18.
Koyczan’s ability to capture the experiences others let pass or the memories people sometimes let fade all stems from his undergrad, he said. Koyzcan took up poetry for the first time while studying at Okanagan University College in Penticton, B.C.
After having some difficulties in high school, he said it started getting easier to express his thoughts and emotions through poetry.
Poems turned to spoken word, spoken word turned to music, and books to albums.
“The transition was pretty natural,” Koyczan said. “When I write, I often have classical music playing in the background . . . music gave me the tools I needed to emotionally connect.”
Still, the honesty and emotion are themes reflected throughout his repertoire.
Koyczan said he pulled inspiration from his own childhood experiences with bullying in Stickboy, a novel-length narrative told through poetry. The novel tells the story of a boy who becomes a bully after years of enduring the hardship himself.
This theme is echoed in his latest poem, “Instructions for a Bad Day.” Koyczan wrote the poem after students at G.P. Vanier Secondary School in Courtenay, B.C. contacted him for an anti-bullying video.
“If you think for one second/ No one has felt what you’ve been going through/ Be accepting of the fact that you are wrong/ That the long drawn heavy breaths of despair/ Have at times been felt by everyone/ That pain is part of the human condition/ And that alone makes you a legion,” Koyczan recites above a choral bed.
The accompanying student-made video shows one student going through his day with an ever-growing backpack. Eventually, he’s able to let go, leave the burden and help another student leave hers behind as well.
The video was released in conjunction with Pink Shirt Day, which takes place across Canada April 11.
The anti-bullying campaign started up after a male student in Nova Scotia was bullied for wearing a pink shirt. Students wore pink shirts the next day to show support and derail the bullies.
“Everything that has been created was done for love. . . just to keep people here with us just a little bit longer because we know there are those dark days,” Koyczan said in a video post about the collaboration.
“It was done with the hope that love would reach those who need it the most.”
6:59 am
“I’ve been told
that people in the army
do more by 7:00 am
then I do in an entire day
but if I wake at 6:59 am
and turn to you
to trace the outline of your lips
with mine
I will have done enough
and killed no one
in the process.”
— Shane Koyzcan
