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The West End Cultural Centre is thrilled to announce their 30th anniversary celebration throughout the month of October, 2017. 

The first show to be announced for this upcoming celebration is spoken word virtuoso, Shane Koyczan on Sunday, October 22nd.

Shane Koyczan is not only a writer and spoken word virtuoso, but also a multi medium spoken word artist. His first published collection, Visiting Hours, was the only work of poetry selected by both the Guardian and the Globe and Mail for their Best Books of the Year lists in 2005. Destined to become a future classic, Visiting Hours is now in its third edition, and includes We Are More. 

Koyczan followed up on the success of Visiting Hours with Stickboy, a novel in verse that chronicles the dark and lonely journey of a bullied child gripped by helpless rage. Koyczan shines a light into the bleak world behind some of the most incomprehensible acts in our culture, and also shows the healing power of love. Written for anyone who has ever been a child, Stickboy continues to be hailed by teachers, academics, and mental health experts alike for its deft handling of the subject of bullying.

Shane returned to his roots with a collection of poetry titled, Our Deathbeds will be Thirsty, which was released in 2012. This book features the piece, To This Day, a poem about bullying that was made into a video by collaborating animators. That video, released in 2013, quickly received worldwide recognition by going viral on Youtube, receiving over a million views in a matter of days. It was released as a project to acknowledge and support national Anti-Bullying day. Since the videos release Shane has presented at TED Talks, where the audience leapt to their feet in applause. Sir Ken Robinson has listed that talk as one of his top ten talks on education. That TED Talk lead to him collaborating with TED-ED to create a classroom tool that provides teachers a way to discuss anti-bullying with students.

Now this extraordinary work has been adapted into an equally moving and visually arresting book. Thirty international artists, as diverse as they are talented, were inspired to create exceptional art to accompany “To This Day.” Each page is a vibrant collage of images, colors and words that resonate powerfully with anyone who has experienced bullying themselves, whether as a victim, observer, or participant.

Shane Koyczan however, is best known for his award winning spoken word performances. With his rhythmic verse in high gear, he navigates his audience through social and political territory with a furious honesty and a tender humanity that has brought audiences to their feet in New York, London, Edinburgh, Sydney, Stockholm, and Los Angeles, to name a few. He has received 5 star reviews for his performances around the globe. Winner of the US Slam Poetry Championship and the Canadian Spoken Word Olympics, Koyczan is truly an extraordinary talent that has blown the dust off of the traditional designation “poet”.