Shane Koyczan Introduced Me to Performance Poetry

One of the first true rock star poets that I ever had the pleasure of seeing is Shane Koyczan.

I saw him perform on the now defunct CBC arts program ZeD. I don’t remember what poem he performed on the show, but I remember being in awe of what Koyczan did with words. It was the first I knew of slam poetry.

I don’t think I was actively writing poetry at that point. It wouldn’t be until few months later, when I heard Charles Bukowski being played on the local university radio station, CJSR, that I would become interested in writing poems. But Kocyzan made me interested in hearing what other people wrote.

Note that I said “hearing” not “reading.” Suddenly, poetry was a living thing. It was a modern thing. Poetry wasn’t some old-fashioned art form that existed only in books. It was in the air.

A few months later, also on ZeD, I would see Koyczan perform again, this time as part of TOFU—Tons of Fun University—with CR Avery and Mighty Mike McGee. Poets can form bands, I thought, holy shit!

Shane Koyczan and TOFU were my first introductions to spoken word/performance poetry. If I hadn’t been watching TV at midnight on a weeknight during my first or second year of university, I might not appreciate rock star poets the way that I do today. So I give thanks for Shane Koyczan and for the CBC. Without them, this blog might not exist.