Our Deathbeds Will Be Thirsty

by Shane L. Koyczan

Award-winning author, performer, and artist Shane.L.Koyczan’s long-awaited collection, Our Deathbeds Will Be Thirsty.

“The collection of poems speaks like a journey through each formative moment we’d forgotten we had: the monster under the bed and the intricate rules about how to overcome its powers; the ability to talk to girls or boys we liked; the fear of being bullied; our first experience with real anguish.” – Litlive.ca

Please note: This is not a young adult title. Some works include language not suitable for some readers.

Genres: Poetry

172 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Shane L. Koyczan is a Canadian poet and writer. Born in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Koyczan grew up in Penticton, British Columbia. In 2000, he became the first Canadian to win the Individual Championship title at the US National Poetry Slam. Together with Mighty Mike McGee and C. R. Avery, he is the co-founder of spoken word, "talk rock" trio, Tons of Fun University (T.O.F.U.).

Koyczan performed a variation on his piece "We Are More" at the Opening Ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Reviews

[Tiana]

If there was anyone I would dump my boyfriend for it would be Shane Koyczan. Even though I doubt he would want me to make such a leap. SO many of his works make me cry and seeing him in person I was a nervous wreck. Just I couldn't believe someone like him exists and his poems hit you so hard and he's just's a talented person.

[Jessica]

There are no words I can string together to describe how talented this man is. But ridiciulous and hilarious are definitely the words that best describe how many spelling mistakes there are in this thing! Not that I really cared. Because it's THAT good. Yeah.
If you've never heard of Shane, go watch To This Day on YouTube before you start reading him...

[Valerie Valente (Pate)]

After seeing Shane Koyczan perform his poetry live, I was eager to get my hands upon one of his collections. Unfortunately, his books are quite pricey in paperback form - as they are imported from his native Canada; but I was able to download a couple of collections to my kindle for a reasonable fee. I have read and re-read these poems several times. I have shared them with others and delighted in their responses.
Shane is one of those writers that has a rich background of interesting stories to share. I enjoyed his talks between his pieces just as much as I did his actual poems. Drawing from his life experience, he writes modern, accessible poetry that could convert many a supposed "non-poetry" person into a loyal fan.
I absolutely love this book.

[Kathie]

I purchased this book of poetry in 2012 after seeing and hearing Shane Koyczan at Mariposa Folk Festival. I have dipped into it from time to time, but decided to immerse myself in it and read it cover to cover.

Koyczan captures the essence of our existence in the modern world. Some of the poems acknowledge the lives of the victims of bullies, the outsiders, the lonely, and the depressed. Others are sweet, tender and funny love poems. His level of crisp, specific detail, often from his own life, makes it alive and real.

He uses no capitals or punctuation to halt the stream of words, only line breaks and stanzas. It made me read with intensity and occasionally go back over what I had just read, which can be a very good thing. The effort to read and absorb these poems is worth it.

[Heather]

I read and re-read this collection often. I have experienced Shane live twice and twice I have cried during the experience. I love this man, I love his heart, I love his mind, and I love his words. He has a way of painting pictures with his words, but it's not just that - I can't really explain the feeling - but for me, he is a genius and I will love him forever.

[Craig Gusmann]

I've loved Shane's poetry albums for a while, but this is the first book I've read. He has a unique ability to make me feel every emotion at once in a single poem--comfort, happiness, sadness, joy, longing, nostalgia, love. Anything I need to feel, I can find in this collection.

[Blythe]

"the crickets have arthritis" --> godDAMN that one's a tear-jerker.

[Rob Melich]

Beef jerky and so much more

[Jacob Livingston]

Read as much of this collection out loud as you can. Especially “Instructions for a bad day”. You won’t regret it.

[Sunny Zhang]

No denial that Shane is a talented writer. I just personally found the content not very relatable. Though the coming of age of people have many overlaps, growing up is still a delicate and unique experience and you can't expect to resonate with every book.

[Hattie]

As a poet myself, I am constantly searching for modern poetry that has been well-crafted and meticulously put together. This beautiful collection, I am happy to say, is just that.

There is no such thing as a poem that is overworked. After-all, the plight of a poet is never knowing when a piece is perfect enough to share with the world. However, Koyczan writes in such a way that shows his dedication and time spent while making his writing look effortless and engaging. A lot of poetry, while necessary and thought-provoking, can seem exclusive to literary obsessed book fiends and impressive scholars of the upmost intellectual abilities. Wordy and sometimes even pretentious. But Koyczan’s poetry can be enjoyed by all; something fans of Rupi Kaur and T. S. Eliot can both be entertained by. The writing flows so well and just enough that you can dissect their meanings without needing to put the book down after reading one poem.

I thoroughly enjoyed myself reading this collection, and it is something I have picked up over and over since my first read-through. I have found my writing style to be influenced by Koyczan’s genius, and I can only hope his words reach more and more audiences as time goes on.

[Delbert Merritt]

This is some really good poetry. I'm not really into poetry in general but this is some real good stuff, although I did prefer to listen to his spoken word more than I enjoyed reading it. I have his spoken word versions of all these poems on my playlist and listen to them all the time.

[James Lotshaw]

Visiting Hours was better

It was good, and many poems were complex, but, at times, I felt that they just dragged on and I didn't care for it.

[Taryn Woods]

Shane Koyczan has such a ridiculous amount of talent. 'Apology' us one of my favourites from this book. Any love poem that references Degrassi is a poem I can get behind.

[behsforensics]

Team owns To This Day by Koyczan, Shane digitally.

Cutting is for The Crickets Have Arthritis By Shane Koyczan

[Susan]

This volume has some of my favorites in it...What an amazing talent.