The Man With the Words... Poet Shane Koyczan

On Monday I made a big trip, or at least a much bigger trip than I usually take these days.  First I ended up in the old neighbourhood which is a whole other story and much more enjoyable than I had myself worked up for.  In the late afternoon my friend Leslie and I made our way south into the seething simmering Megacity of Toronto.  I'm not kidding by the way, it really is called the Megacity.  Weird eh?

We took the scenic route and saw, um, lots of intersections.  But we were never technically lost because she's so chill and cool.

We had a reason to be there, aside from the two of us getting the heck out of the house together wearing nicer clothes than usual and not having any kids trailing us.

Shane Koyczan was our reason!

I couldn't remember this guy's name for the life of me before Monday evening.  I just knew that when Leslie suggested this evening out, I eagerly accepted the invitation.  Me getting out of the house is a big deal at any time, but since moving out to the Ol Homestead, I act like Toronto is at least an 8 hour drive away which it isn't.  In fact, the daunting task of actually getting to the other area code took up so much brain power I couldn't remember exactly anymore who/why I wanted to see this guy.

Oh yeah, THAT GUY.

Oh my gosh, seeing him was well worth the drive!!

He's a poet.  He performs his poetry on stage with a nifty trio of musicians with the cool name of Short Story Long.  Occasionally he sings and is much better than he says he is.  He is totally captivating.

He can swear like a trucker and two seconds later bring you to tears.

He's funny and heartbreaking.

He's adorable and interesting.

I have messed around with words, but hearing and seeing this man makes me feel that buzzing mix of "I will never write anything this good" and "I am seeing fractals and mental fireworks and I can smell the stars!!!!"

Some of you who watched the 2010 Olympics might remember him reciting his awesome "We Are More."  If you didn't catch it, please watch it now, because when he was done I was cheering.  

I decided to buy a CD, partly to share the experience but also because I like to shell out 20 bux to support an artist.  My money is hard earned and scarce but this matters to me.  I hear it's really hard to make a living as a poet.

After the show Leslie and I stood there clutching our new CDs and debating whether or not it's cool to ask for a hug.  I seriously wanted to hug this guy.  The girl before us hugged him so that settled that.  I am such a starstruck fan at things like this.  I agonize over what to say and how to act and afterwards always think I came off like a slobbering idiot.

Well so what, I got my disc signed and both of us girls got our big hugs!

You know what?  If words could heal the world, I think Shane Koyczan should be like, doctor-guru-shaman of all nations or something.  I'd create a new job just for him if I ran this place.  He is just that awesome.