Sarah Stefanson escaped the pain the lonliness of being a newcomer with her journals of poetry and song.
The 18-year-old Aden Bowman grad, who has captured her poetry and song on a recording, admitted during a recent interview her songs and poetry lean heavily to introspection and contemplation.
"A lot of my songs are about painful, hurtful events, but are the kind of things a person would learn from," she said. "That's why it's called Broken Like a Starfish, a metaphor for the starfish's regeneration."
Stefanson's cheerful demeanor belies the angst and emotionally wrenching themes that dominate her music.
"I find it difficult to write happy songs. It's a lot harder to put emotion into a happy song and still have it sound genuine," she said. "For me it's a lot easier to be emotional in a sad or angry song."
For almost as long as she can remember, Stefanson has been in the habit of documenting her thoughts and pieces of poetry in written journals.
"Writing is a lot like therapy for me: if I can write it down it makes me feel better, if I can sing it I feel even better," she said.
Before moving to Saskatoon last year, Stefanson admitted she was a loner in her small town but found poetry and songwriting an escape from her lonliness.
Stefanson became intrigued with songwriting as she watched her father pluck out tunes on the family 12-string.
"My father has been a big influence, he played the guitar as sort of a hobby," she recalled. "I love the full, sparkly sound of the 12-string."
At Aden Bowman, creative writing instructor Paula Patola encouraged Stefanson's songwriting.
"She was a big help, she really encouraged me," Stefanson said.
To finance the recording and hone her onstage skills, Stefanson has appeared regularly on the Cafe Casa stage as well as appearances at Ness Creek and Saskatchewan Original Music Association summer stage.
Stefanson's spare acoustic sound has been augmented by several musician friends during the recording sessions. Aaron Adair from Five Minute Miracle plays guitar and adds vocals, Aaron Sinclair contributes guitar, vocals, and drums, Trent Lengyel brings his percussion skills and Kyle Lamont plays bass.
Stefanson and her musician friends will showcase songs from Broken Like a Starfish at a disc release party Friday at The Bassment, beginning at 8 p.m.
Terry Craig
Saskatoon Free Press
December 6, 1998
