Shane Koyczan

In this collection, Shane skillfully takes the readers on a trek through deserts of loneliness, labyrinths of loss, and meadows of healing. The landscapes of our emotions range from the perilous to the serene, and these poems become a companion, a confidant, a source of solace, and a survival guide for the reader.

Shane's unique voice weaves humor and storytelling into his verses. With levity as a setup for power, each poem promises to take you on a zipline of emotions, leaving you both laughing and reflecting on life's miracles. While the freefall through our emotions may at times feel like a hazard, Shane creates a place to land safely without having to sacrifice the impact created by their velocity. These works are flint and tinder, wrestling as a tag team against the cold and dark we sometimes find ourselves lost in.

The works contained within do not tell us where to dig for the buried treasure of our hearts… they remind us that the treasure does in fact exist, and they lay bare what is amazing about what our hearts can endure.

Additional Information
118 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | Paperback 

Inconvenient Skin challenges how reconciliation has become a contested buzzword filled with promises and good intentions but rarely any meaningful follow-through. While Canada's history is filled with darkness, these poems aim to unpack that history to clean the wounds so the nation can finally heal. Powerful and thought-provoking, this collection will draw you in and make you reconsider Canada's colonial legacy. The cover features the art of Kent Monkman, and the interior features work by Joseph Sanchez, a member of the Indian Group of Seven.

Written in English and Cree.

Educator Information
This collection of poems features Shane Koyczan's well-known poem, "Inconvenient Skin," delivered in a dual-language format of English and Cree and paired with illustrations, artwork, and photography.

Recommended in the Canadian Indigenous Books for Schools 2019-2020 resource list as being useful for grades 11 and 12 for these subjects: Art Education, English Language Arts.

This poem talks about sexual assault, genocide, and violence.  Some of the artwork shows violence and nudity.  This could be triggering for some readers.

Additional Information
80 pages | 8.50" x 8.50" | Colour Illustrations

An authentic rallying cry for anyone who has been affected by bullying. 

In February 2013, Shane Koyczan's passionate anti-bullying poem "To This Day" electrified the world. An animated video of the lyric narrative went viral, racking up over 12 million hits to date and inspiring an international movement against bullying in schools. Shane later performed the piece to sustained applause on the stage of the 2013 annual TED Conference. 

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

Born of Shane's own experiences of being bullied as a child, To This Day expresses the profound and lasting effect of bullying on an individual, while affirming the strength and inner resources that allow people to move beyond the experience. A heartfelt preface and afterword, along with resources for kids affected by bullying, make this book an invaluable centerpiece of the anti-bullying movement. 

Reviews
"The poem is searing, exposing the short and long-term impacts of bullying, and rallying those who engage with the poem to take action and become active participants in stopping bullying. The range of art in this trim book is extraordinary; this is a true double-impact collection with the power of the verse itself interpreted in drastically different ways through the illustrative choices, from realistic sketches to comic book-style renderings to abstract representations of the tone rather than words on the page." — Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, November 2014

"His passionate, implacable rejection of bullying describes the effect school violence has on the hearts and minds of its victims. But Koyczan also offers hope for healing." — Publishers Weekly, August 2014

Educator Information
Recommended Ages: 10-18

Additional Information
72 pages | 6.50" x 9.75"