Stuff’s in store for wordsmith Shane Koyczan
Shane Koyczan is actually enjoying some relative quiet when the Straight reaches him at his Penticton home. This is his only interview for the entire day. In 24 hours, he’ll head to Toronto and back into the hot glare of the international media blitz sparked by his stirring, gold-medal performance of the spoken-word piece “We Are More” at the Olympic opening ceremony.
…But the Olympics have increased his visibility by orders of magnitude, and the trailer-park-raised poet is taking a conscientious approach to the platform that—because of its broader implications—he “waffled” over accepting. Within minutes of answering the phone, he’s talking about the B.C. Liberals’ arts cuts.
“Reimagine the opening ceremonies and cut 90 percent of the artists involved,” he says, sighing. “It makes no sense. And it’s like, honestly, do they assume that the arts are going to be there the next time? Do they think the arts community is going to step up to the plate? I don’t think it will.”
He even suggests a strikingly simple form of protest. “I think we need to shame them,” he says.
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