Songs sculpt life

Nanaimo - Hawksley Workman performs at the Port Theatre Friday (Nov. 9)at 7:30 p.m.

Juno award winning singer-songwriter Hawksley Workman performs in Nanaimo Friday (Nov. 9).

Juno award winning singer-songwriter Hawksley Workman performs in Nanaimo Friday (Nov. 9).

Poetry lingers everywhere, it’s just a matter of seeing it.

It dwells in the simplistic – the small things. These tiny fragments are sources of inspiration for singer-songwriter Hawksley Workman, which he uses to craft his songs.

“There is plenty of inspiration in life, you just have to open your eyes. There are little bits of poetry coming on all the time,” he said.  “I like to look at the little things and celebrating the smallness.”

Songs live inside people’s lives, said Workman. People remember the songs they fell in love to or ones that played during pivotal moments in their lives. He said these are songs that “live with you forever.”

“It’s an art form that lives in time. It sculpts time – it exists alongside life in a complementary way,” he said.

Over the last 12 years Workman has recorded 13 albums, has been nominated for a Juno award six times and has won two. The musician is also an actor and published author. In 2002, his book Hawksley Burns for Isadora was published, which is a collection of fictional love letters written to a mermaid.

Workman said he counts himself lucky for having a music career with such longevity.

“It feels incredible to feel relevant,” he said.

He performs at the Port Theatre Friday (Nov. 9) at 7:30 p.m.  Tickets are $40, $35 for members and groups and $15 for students. They are available by calling 250-754-8550, online at www.porttheatre.com or at the Port Theatre ticket office, located at 125 Front St.

arts@nanaimobulletin.com

Nanaimo News Bulletin