Shane Koyczan
Variety and Comedy
ActiveAbout
Shane L. Koyczan was born on May 22, 1976, and is a Canadian spoken word poet, writer, and member of the group Tons of Fun University. He was born in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, to a French mother and a father of First Nations heritage. He grew up in Penticton, British Columbia, with his grandparents and was educated at Okanagan College. In 2000, he became the first Canadian to win the Individual Championship title at the National Poetry Slam. He also won the Canadian Spoken Word Olympics. Koyczan performed a variation of his poem 'We Are More' at the Opening Ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. He is known for writing about issues like bullying, cancer, death, and eating disorders. He is most famous for the anti-bullying poem 'To This Day' which has over 25 million views on YouTube. Koyczan has published several books, including poetry collection 'Visiting Hours,' 'Stickboy' (a novel in verse), 'Our Deathbeds will be Thirsty,' 'To This Day: For the Bullied and Beautiful,' and 'A Bruise on Light.' 'Visiting Hours' was selected by both the Guardian and Globe and Mail for their 2005 Best Books of the Year lists. Together with American slam poet Mighty Mike McGee and fellow Canadian C.R. Avery, he is a co-founder of Vancouver spoken word, 'talk rock' trio, Tons of Fun University (T.O.F.U.). A recipient of a BC Civil Liberties Award for the Arts, Koyczan has collaborated with artists including Ani DiFranco, Dan Mangan, Tanya Tagaq and worked with George Miller on Mad Max: Fury Road.