University of Northern BC student K. Darcy Taylor earned her Master of Arts in English and made history in the process.
She defended her thesis using spoken word poetry last week, becoming the first person in Canada to do that.
The defence was titled: BC/AD (before cancer/after diagnosis): a Poetic Timeline of Illness for Patients & Healthcare Professionals.
“I used poetry as a form by which to explore my experience as I saw it as a patient, as well as from the point of view from a recovering patient and somebody who is dealing with the healthcare system.”
Taylor originally tried for her Masters in 2010 but was not well enough to follow through. She was aware this would be one of if not the first person to use spoken word poetry, saying it was a focus of hers because she loves the form of art.
“It’s basically storytelling using poetic tools such as rhyme, caesura or pause, meter, different poetic devices that our ears listen to almost more closely because it has got some musicality to it.”
The response was overwhelmingly positive says Taylor, noting there were many audience members moved by the content in her defence.
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