When Martin Daws was a schoolboy he, like so many other young people, had little interest in the poetry he was taught in school.
But, as a lover of musical lyrics and inspired early on by artists like Bowie and Dylan, as well as by hip hop and rap, he soon learned that the scope of poetic verse reached far beyond the dry stanzas of his school curriculum.
After a decade DJing he found himself inspired to explore his love of music and lyrics through performance poetry and spoken word.
And now he wants to use his recent appointment as Young People's Laureate for Wales to recreate that moment it all clicked into place for him and inspire a new generation of young people.
Martin Daws during a performance. Photo: Spurious Nonsense Art Photography
Speaking just after his appointment by Literature Wales, he told me: "The poetry I learned at school didn't mean anything to me but I loved books and music. It took me a while to realise that it's all poetry.
"When I suddenly felt inspired to write and sing as a performance poet, I realised it's about making it relevant to you.
"I saw performance poetry and it was a musical literature, it had meaning, the depth and lyricalism of poetry and the emotivity of music."
As Young People's Laureate, over the next two years Martin will use his position to reach young people, engage them with literature and give them a platform for their own creative voices.
Projects he has in the pipeline include working with young people to create their own poetic manifestos, a summer day school for writers and youth leaders on delivering accessible literature activities, and a pop-up poetry tour of Wales' more rural communities.
A generational shift
Martin feels that because of music like rap and hip hop, young people today aren't as closed to the notion of poetry as they might have been in his schooldays.
"I think there has been a generational shift and young people are being exposed to music much more which I think has led to a wider appreciation of poetry."
The two year appointment recognises his many years of experience in delivering issue-based education in a creative way. So far, more than 17,000 people have participated in his workshops in all kinds of environments including classrooms, theatres, woodlands, festivals, universities, museums and even bus stops.
Martin hopes helping young people to love literature will also act as a springboard for their professional development.
"Some of these young people may have grown up loving poetry but some of them won't. I want to use it as a way to give them some key transferable skills, so they know how to communicate in a group, it builds their self esteem and lets them know why their voice matters.
"I love reading and writing but that's a private, inner experience. What I really love about the spoken word and performance poetry is that it provides a social context for the individual's journey.
"It makes people confident about expressing themselves and thinking about what they say, but the beauty is, it's happening in a natural, organic culture.
"Hopefully we can inspire people along the way to reflect on themselves and improve their life skills and build their confidence so they feel what they say is valued."
Martin Daws. Photo: Emyr Young
The Wales-wide poetic manifesto is the first project he will be working on. It will see him working with schools and youth groups and online to get people writing poetry about who they are and where they're from.
Martin will then use their work as an inspiration to write a poem of his own. The final piece will be presented at the Senedd on 19 June.
Pop-up poetry
His pop-up poetry tour will see him venturing out on to high streets around Wales to set up a poetry take-away.
He said: "Young people will have the opportunity to come and work with me in this pop-up space.
"Members of the public can stop by and we'll interview them and then write a poem for them so they can pop off and do their shopping and then pop back and we'll have a poem waiting for them which they can take-away.
"I have been doing this in libraries already and it works well alongside the build up to things like Valentine's Day and Mothers' Day, places where poetry is traditionally in the mainstream.
"I think people use poetry to speak to a deeper part of life, so in cards where it's OK to show truth and vulnerability through verse they embrace it. Pop-up poetry is an opportunity for people to have that connection."
Twitter poetry
From this week the public can also engage with Martin through a Twitter epic poem which he hopes will represent his first year in post. Each day he will post a few lines or a stanza from the poem on the Twitter account @YPLWales, which will be woven together in one piece at the end of the year. People on Twitter are welcome to contribute so that it acts as an open conversation.
"I am absolutely thrilled at Martin's appointment as Young People's Laureate," said Lleucu Siencyn, chief executive of Literature Wales.
"His energy both as a performer and workshop facilitator will make literature a vibrant, appealing and relevant art form for young people in Wales today.
"Creative writing is a vital expressive tool – and through Martin's encouragement, many more young people will gain the confidence to make themselves heard."
Tracey Thompson, youth worker at Gwersyllt Night Project in Wrexham said: “Working with Martin on the Eat My Words project was a positive experience for both the staff and the young people from the Gwersyllt Project group.
"It introduced the group to new things, took them out of their comfort zone, gave them new skills and increased their confidence... this project has altered their perception of poetry and inspired them to write more."
Martin will also be offering a number of workshops in May, both in person and online, as part of the Young People's Manifesto project.
These workshops are aimed at youth groups, young writers' groups and secondary schools and are available by application through Literature Wales, with a deadline of Wednesday 1 May 2013.
Visit youngpeopleslaureate.org for more information and to take part, or contact Literature Wales.
