This year for the writers seminar we did in class my group did Shane Koyczan. A brilliant spoken poet that I had the pleasure of going to see when he came to Calgary in October. He has done some beautiful poems and is well known on YouTube as well as through TedTalks. It was a joy to learn and be inspired by this amazing writer


Interview:

Before we begin, I was hoping you could tell us a little bit about your past and what made you want to become a writer in the first place?

I had a very unhappy childhood with a lot of problems, writing is the best way I’ve found to work through some of that trauma. Writing has always been a passion of mine and once I found out that I was both good at it and that it could help me work through things I stuck with it, bringing me to where I am now.

Tell us a little bit about your style and what genre you do.

I like to write spoken word poetry or slam poetry, I find that it works best for the range of emotions that I can express during a poem which helps me to understand the memory or trauma I’m working through. My style is one of both lyricism and flow, I like my poems to almost be songs in the way that they sound. So much to the point that some of my poems have backing tracks of musicians in the background.

Can you describe your writing process for us?

My process involves sitting alone and working through my past trauma, I like to just get everything out on paper as fast as I can, then add, take out specific parts and polish up for flow and lyricism. I like to work through my writing alone first then go to loved ones, other poets, and editors for feedback.

What advice do you have for the writers in the audience?

Just write, there is no trick or special way to write that will make you better. You just have to write on a consistent basis and believe that you’ll write something good. As long as it means something to you it should come to you without too much difficulty. Write alone at first to get your poem, then go through and ask for others opinions, but remember it’s your poems so your word is final in how it looks.

Who are your favourite authors?

I cannot say that I have one favourite author. In fact my list of favourite authors mostly includes other spoken word poets. As the genre is quite a small community it is very close. Most of my influences come from other spoken word poets not only by what they say but how they say it. We all love to bounce ideas off each other, so I’d say any spoken word poet is my favourite author.


Emulation:

Troll – Shane Koyczan (Lyrics here)

Every night the Moon told bedtime stories to the Sunlight,

put her to rest as her took over her work.

But the Moon is a lazy guard compared to the Sun.

He doesn’t keep you warm like she does,

doesn’t light up the world like she does.

 

So people get away with things

once the sun goes to bed and the sun stops watching.

He gives them chances to stab their words into your skin

where they’ll bleed into you like ink,

leaving scars behind that say

all the worthless things deep down

you feel you are.

 

You tell yourself they’re just jealous,

but those words consume you.

They are in your every thought,

they’re behind every action,

you become a slave to them

as they put you in a cage

bar by bar when you are too weak to defend yourself.

 

Without fail,

the Moon will take his turn at rest,

and the Sun will bring the light with her.

The warmth with her.

And the cage will retreat for a little while,

to give you a chance to dance in the light.


What this Writer Means to Me

I think that his spoken poetry is really powerful and is something that everyone can relate to. The way he talks about things and how he addresses them are in really clear without being overly blunt. I really admire his symbolism and imagery that he uses and hope to incorporate that into my own writing. Especially the symbolism since I’m not very good at keeping consistent powerful symbols present in my own writing whether that is in fiction or poetry.


Emulation (From Someone Else’s Presentation)

From of an excerpt of The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah 

They will cause you no trouble.

These fears you have floating around in your mind. You are making them into something bigger than they should be. You are letting them control you. But my friend, what you don’t seem to understand is they will cause you no trouble. Not today. Not tomorrow. Not ever. They’re all in your head. Don’t worry. Let go. They will cause you no trouble.

 

They will cause you nothing but trouble.

These fears you have floating around in your mind. They have become something bigger than what you though was possible. They are controlling you. Others don’t understand, they will cause you nothing but trouble. Today. Tomorrow. Forever. They’re consuming your mind. Worry. Don’t let go. They will cause you nothing but trouble.