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Shane Koyczan's anti-bullying opera explores victim's breaking point

Spoken word artist Shane Koyczan on his anti-bullying opera Stickboy.

Celebrated spoken word poet Shane Koyczan joins guest host Tom Power to discuss Stickboy, his powerful libretto about the bully inside all of us, and the drastic things a victim might do to be left alone. 

The show, commissioned by the Vancouver Opera, is based on Koyczan's own memories of being bullied before resorting to bullying other students. The poet reflects on the difficulty of revisiting that chapter of his life, what it meant to reach his breaking point, and why schools must do more to recognize how damaging bullying can be.

Click on the listen button above to hear the full segment, and watch two of Koyczan's powerful poems in the windows embedded below.