Shane Koyczan’s ability to distil complex emotions into succinct and poignant vignettes of humanity is what rocketed him to spoken word fame in 2000, when he became the first Canadian to win the U.S. Poetry Slam Championship. Decades later, his work is still reverberating.
Whistler Waldorf School (WWS) has invited Koyczan to Whistler as part of the school's Community Youth Mental Health Speaker Series events. In a two-part instalment spanning January and February, his work will be on display through film with a screening of a documentary starring Koyczan Jan. 28 at the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre (SLCC), followed by a spoken word performance Feb. 24 at the Maury Young Arts Centre.
The documentary, Shut up and Say Something, follows Koyczan as he reconnects with his father. The poet said it speaks to the intrinsic need in people to understand their own origin stories.
“It’s very trying to traverse the silence that existed between us for over two decades. There's a lot of territory to cover and try and squeeze into six minutes. You don't necessarily see everything that happened behind the scenes, because that project took about three years,” he said.
Despite, in his words, “opening a vein in front of people” for his poetry, Koyczan said starring in the film was a different scope of personal exposure.
“That was scary, watching it all get squeezed down or compressed into something that was, I guess, digestible for an audience. It was an interesting process for me, to say the least," he said. "You know, some of it sort of makes you squirm.”
Despite the challenging emotions, the poet said the documentary helped him reconcile with his father and process growing up without him.
Ali Blancher, program coordinator for WWS, said bringing in Koyczan aligns with the Waldorf's curricula. Students have a poetry block where they learn about other poets and create their own work.
“He was tapped because, for our institution and for Whistler, he is a well renowned spoken word poet. We at Waldorf work quite strongly with poetry, spoken work and artistry,” Blancher said. “Poetry is a wonderful way to express feelings, thoughts and ideas. It’s a great way to deal with difficult subject matter.”
Speaking at school events is something Koyczan said he’s happy to do, because he lacked those same supports as a youth.
“Schools don’t usually have big budgets to bring in all the people they want. So, when they decide to address mental health, that’s something I take seriously. When I was growing up there was no support for bullying, there was no crisis line. I think it's great that schools are actively seeking to engage students about their own mental health and help them understand that what they're going through isn't their fault or something they should feel ashamed of,” he said.
The events are free, but registration to both the film screening and poetry reading is required. Donations are welcome and funds will go towards Whistler Community Services Society and the SLCC's Youth Ambassador Program.
