Sixteen-year-old blooms into role as HRM’s 2026 youth poet laureate

Daniel Park is channelling his literary talents into speaking for what he calls the voiceless: The thousands of plant species in the Halifax region. 

“Since I was very young, I lived surrounded by nature,” said Park in a video interview with The Signal. 

“When I walk to school, there’s a little creek next to the road that I take. I often just take a look at that and see how the plants are growing and how the snow is affecting them. I like spending a lot of time outside, and I think it really shapes how I think and write.”

On Jan. 27, Halifax Regional Municipality named Daniel Park its 2026 youth poet laureate. 

Park was born in Korea. He moved to China with his family when he was 13. It was during his time in China that Park became interested in nature and joined his first gardening club.  

“In Korea, I lived in this compound,” said Park. “It was really chemical because they used a lot of fertilizers and stuff to have (the plants) look better.”

Park said that when his family lived in Beijing, he realized how important nature is in a “crowded” and “industrial” city.

Last year, Park and his family moved to Halifax. Park said he once again noticed how different nature was in this new city. 

“I feel like I’m facing this nature that’s unprocessed,” said Park. “It’s giving me a new perspective on how I view nature.”

Lindsay Cory is the HRM’s community developer for public art. She told The Signal Park’s attentiveness to nature made his poetry stand out. 

“We were really touched by how specifically he spoke about the environment and about gardening,” said Cory. 

“We were really taken aback by this young person who has lived in many places and has found a way to ground himself literally in those places through gardening and through the environment,” said Cory.

The Youth Poet Laureate program was established in 2023 in collaboration with outgoing poet laureate Sue Goyette.  

The municipality defines the youth poet laureate as “a resident poet, storyteller or spoken word artist between the ages of 14-18.” 

Cory said the recipients participate in a mentorship program, which includes an individual mentor, workshops, and opportunities to share their work with the public. 

Daniel, who attends C.P. Allen High School, will serve as the youth poet laureate from January to December 2026. 

Dáminí Awóyígà was named the 2023 youth poet laureate. She told The Signal she felt the program was “a good step” in establishing new connections and furthering her writing career. 

“I see the role as being a sampler for poetry and giving you the opportunity to share your poetry and your words and your thoughts and to educate people with a bigger microphone and a bigger stage,” said Awóyígà. 

Awóyígà said she was familiar with Park’s work and that she was “really proud” of him for achieving this title. 

Park said that since becoming the youth poet laureate, he is most looking forward to raising awareness about nature and to working on small projects with the community gardens. 

He is involved with his school’s student-run club, Better with Bees, which focuses on urban environmental sustainability and Mi’kmaw medicine. 

The Rights of the Voiceless

By Daniel Park

Names that vanish once the day is done,
perhaps it is us, parting every day,
who never heard certain voices at all.

The forest has always been silent.
Yet in that stillness dwell
thousands of breaths,
countless cries.

Waves whisper their names as they break,
but we cannot understand.
We call it scenery, nothing more.

The city hums low,
and the songs of birds grow shorter.
With every step we take on the streets,
a blade of grass loses its right to exist.

The voiceless do not protest.
They simply drift farther away,
vanishing at a speed we cannot perceive.

So I listen.
Beyond the noise, beyond our words,
to the tremble of life still remaining.

They too have names.
We have merely
forgotten how to speak them.