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Meet Daniel Paice, the new Stamford Youth Poet Laureate

19-year-old Daniel Paice has been named as the inaugural Youth Poet for Stamford, following a competition against other incredibly talented poets.


Daniel's poetry journey began when he was 13, describing himself as a precise person, he felt poetry was a way of succinctly putting together his feelings on paper. Now, six years later he is a published poet and has also gained the title of Youth Poet Laureate.

Daniel's first book, Prevailed Hope has received 4.9 stars out of 5 on Amazon. Written on the basis of mental health, Daniel explores emotions over passing time, splitting the book into three sections; Midnight, Dawn and Midday, beginning with defeat and leaving hopeful, as the time passes. His second, A Moment of Detachment, is a poetic short story exploring the relationship between a mother and her son, alongside mental health challenges and dissociation.


Becoming Youth Poet Laureate for Stamford, to Daniel, means a new step in his career and the ability to put himself out there more. It is also a true testament to what can be achieved through hard work and determination, as the competition this year was so fierce that two winners were announced by the judging panel— with Daniel's incredible poem ‘Keep Writing’, wowing them into creating a new position of Youth Poet Laureate. He also views this as an opportunity to help others through his writing- tackling hard-hitting topics and raising awareness of mental health issues.


This Poets message to everyone is that “Poetry is not just Shakespearian.” It can be about anything and can be written in many different ways, he hopes this message will inspire young people to take up poetry or creative writing in a way that suits them. This is because he feels that in school, “you can lose sight of the fact that writing is much more than just writing essays to complete exams, as well as indirectly showing that young and disabled people can achieve great things. Through my work, I want to raise awareness around mental health.”


Daniel feels it is so important to get involved in poetry because it can help us express complex feelings and ideas in a more concise manner, when writing a poem it can be written with intention and you can take exactly what you want from it. For Daniel, this has been as assistance with his mental health and working out the best way to help himself.


Daniels winning poem, Keep Writing:


Keep on writing.

Write the stress away.

Keep writing.


Put together the pieces,

and life will come together for you.

My advice to you is to keep on writing.

We never know of the opportunities that will come,

the people we'll meet,

The influence our words will have.


Your heart desires to write,

So don't disobey it.

What starts as a slow ebb of desire,

May soon bloom into a fiery passion -

as the words fly from your subconscious

to your fingertips,

and then onto the page.

The writing is on the wall.

The words you write will soon delight a reader's imagination.


That same fire that burns at the pit of your stomach, now burns in theirs'.

A wandering thought will soon become a thought to ponder.


Poetry is a brilliant way to light this fire.

Concise, but full of emotion,

It can hit the very recesses of our consciousness

Of our imagination

Remind us of what makes us human,

The key role that emotions play in our lives.


So write.

Your destiny is laid bare,

clear as day,

For all to see.

Writing is the way forward.



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