From rap lyrics to relatable poetry books, Alex Wharton’s journey from a Welsh mining town to Children’s Laureate shows how reading and language can unlock imaginations and transform young livesGrowing up in the small post-industrial mining town of Pontypool in south Wales, Alex Wharton was transported to other worlds. “I usually say I didn’t start reading poetry until I was an adult. There is a very fluid, musical pulse to Wharton’s words and delivery: “I need fizzy-dizzy-disco words that bounce along a beat,”he writes in I Don’t Want to Write a Poem. “It’s about those lovely little things like offering comfort and forging connections through language that create a positive environment. Wharton is currently the Children’s Laureate for Wales and takes his poetry to libraries, school classrooms and events all over the UK.