Spoken word is alive and well in Canada, thanks in part to the many YouTube videos from spoken word talents spreading the good word about performance poetry. Repping Penticton, British Columbia, Shane Koyczan is again offering fans a 7-minute taste of his poetry portfolio with his new video ‘Heaven, or Whatever.’
The seven-minute video acts as a short film to the lyrical poem, which Koycan describes on the YouTube page:
I think, in this life, we search for what gives us comfort. For some people it’s a concept like Heaven, for others it’s something different. I make no claims that what I believe is the truth… it’s simply what I believe. I’m grateful that I was able to find some small measure of harmony with my granddad despite our conflicting spiritual paths… I guess that’s how I’ve learned to define respect.
For those close to the spoken word scene, they’ll also spot cameo appearances by R.C. Weslowski and C.R. Avery from Vancouver. These two poetry legends have performed across Canada and the U.S., either on the slam stage or at feature series.
“You can’t just do whatever,” Koyczan says in the poem, telling the story of a son talking to his father about heaven, dreams and fulfilled obligations. What is heaven, the poem asks. “You often asked me, ‘if I had a heaven, what would it be like?’ And I told you, for such a small word, ‘if’ is just too big to wrap my belief around. I would not bend to the hypothetical. I wish now that I would’ve. Even if it was just to ease your mind to the belief that I was heading to that other place you believe in.”
Digital Journal previously reported on Koyczan’s previous video releases, including the environmentally-focused Shoulders and his anti-bullying piece Troll.