Talent 360 poetry semi-finalists: Daniel Steyn

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Hi Daniel, thanks for your time. Please tell our readers who you are: Where do you live, where do you go to school, or what work do you do?

I am sixteen years old, going on seventeen, and I live in Stellenbosch, in the Middedorp. I am a grade 11 learner at Stellenbosch Hoërskool. My subjects are drama, economics, music, mathematics, English Home Language and Afrikaans Huistaal.

I do jobs on the side, such as sound recording and video production. I like to think of myself as an aspiring creative in the film and theatre industries.

How did you hear about the Talent 360 project and what made you want to enter?

I attended the Talent 360 grand finale last year, before the poetry section was added, and was impressed by the organisation of the event and the talent presented on the night.
But I heard about the poetry section only a few weeks before the audition, via Facebook. One of my friends shared the link and I took my chances and entered. Little did I know that I would make the semi-finals.

Congratulations on being one of the three semi-finalists in the poetry section! How does it feel?

I am just so surprised that I made it! So a big shout-out to my voters. I don’t even know 100 people who could’ve voted for me, so whoever you are, you are awesome! Thank you!

I was blown away by the poems performed at the auditions, and I feel honoured to think that mine is deemed to be under the top three.

I look forward to developing my skill over the next few weeks and I am excited to perform a larger variety of poems, not just depressing and soppy love poems.

What was the inspiration for your poem? Do you have a muse or specific theme/subject that’s important to you?

The poem I performed was written for the competition itself, actually. I read through my compilation of poems I wrote last year and they were neither suitable for performance nor applicable to my current situation.

While many of the poems entered into the competition told stories of community or environment-based problems, mine was a love poem. It was, of course, inspired by a girl, but the poem was really about someone else. I am not suicidal, as the narrator in the poem was. So don’t worry.

Regarding important themes/subjects, I write mostly about social problems, of which I have many, and also the demise of communities, the world and humanity as a whole. I observe the behaviour of people and use them in my poems.

How long have you been writing poetry? Who is your favourite poet?

I have been writing poetry since I was thirteen. My favourite poets are Koos Kombuis, Leonard Cohen, Breyten Breytenbach, Ingrid Jonker and, of course, Shakespeare.

The Talent 360 contestants will be performing at the US Woordfees – what are your thoughts on this? Are you excited, nervous ...?

I have no idea what to expect. This will be the first time that I’ll perform my poems to a wider audience. Very nervous, excited and curious.

What is your biggest dream in life?

Oh, one can speak of dreams all day! Since this is a pageant, in some ways, I must say: world peace.

Check out Daniel's poem and recital here.


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