4080Records Presents: Shane Koyczan

Spoken word has long had a pretty strong following. In the artistic sense, it is one of the most difficult art forms to master. It takes genuine skill and lyricism to construct a poem that has the melody and power necessary to sway the crowd.

Shane Koyczan, the Canadian born poet, doesn’t exactly look like your typical artist. That alone is the motivation behind much of his work. A constant critique of society’s concept of beauty and how they decide someones worth runs through many of his poems.

I can’t even begin to tell you how incredible this man is as an artist. Reading his poems on their own (Visiting Hours) can be one of the most moving experiences you will ever have. Seriously, you could write a book on his work. Analyze it in class. Or impress a girl. Read it in the tub. Listen to his work with your boys. Anything. You won’t regret it, that’s for sure.

He won the National Poetry Slam and was apparently the first non-American to win it. Once more I’m not surprised, though it is astonishingly impressive to have managed to pull that off.

As a little sample of his work, check out Visiting Hours. I’ve posted the video below.