Taylor is a renowned Māori poet, storyteller, playwright, novelist, actor, painter, and musician

On Thursday 19 March, the English Department organised a visit from Apirana Taylor. Taylor is a renowned Māori poet, storyteller, playwright, novelist, actor, painter, and musician. He is celebrated as a powerful and versatile voice in New Zealand literature, often drawing inspiration from his Māori heritage (Ngāti Porou, Te Whānau-ā-Apanui, and Ngāti Ruanui). Ma-ara kōkō Pāora Chamberlain and Kane Te Whiu led the mihi whakatau for Matua Taylor.

The morning began with a poetry and music performance for all Year 11 students to complement their Te Ao Māori poetry unit from the beginning of the term. It was an engaging experience that included guitar and flute. The poetry was a fluctuation of emotion, power and voice. Experiencing poetry as a performance is a great opportunity for students to see it come alive.

Ma’ara says, “Incorporating culture and identity into poetry and expressing with passion and pride was inspirational. Being proud to be Māori and expressing through Te Reo was powerful. Being Māori is something to be proud about, and freely expressing who we are is important.”

Apirana also ran two workshops with students. One was a poetry workshop with our Scholarship students and Year 11 to 13 students who are creative writers in their own time. The second was a short story writing workshop with Ms Sweeting’s Year 10 class. Both sessions were interactive and engaging. Students wrote their own poetry and short stories. Look out for a couple of pieces in the school magazine at the end of the year.