The work and preparation for any Writers in Schools visit begins months before the visit itself, and perhaps even longer. “At our school, we have studied the poems of Apirana Taylor for years, as they are relevant, accessible and powerful,” explains Justin. “I attended one of Apirana’s workshops at an NZATE PLD session, and his performance, mana, and creativity were inspiring.” He was a natural choice, then, for a school visit.

Justin also notes the strong objective behind booking Apirana’s visit—it wasn’t just a fun novelty for students, or a different mode of presentation (although both of these things can be useful when engaging students!). “Our purpose when booking the visit was to engage ākonga in poetry, by showing them that it is a living, breathing art form, and not something that we only encounter in classroom assignments.”

At Henderson High, colleagues worked closely together to facilitate the visit’s success well before it began. Under Justin’s guidance, ākonga selected three of Apirana’s poems to read and reflect on, writing about how and why they responded to the poem, and what they thought about the nature of the experience encapsulated in the poem.

Whaea Rere August, Head of Department of Māori, also worked with ākonga to prepare them for the visit, and facilitated a pōhiri to welcome Apirana to school grounds. Following the pōhiri, Apirana’s workshop took place on the school’s Panuku Marae, lending a special depth to the ao Māori themes already highlighted in Apirana’s poetry.

“Apirana got straight to the point, and engaged ākonga immediately (and memorably),” says Justin. “He talked about the power of poetry and words, and very soon our students were busy constructing their own work, which Apirana ensured they shared with the group. He made comments on the poems, offering feedback and feedforward.”

“Apirana’s introduction to the concept that words have power was forceful and inspiring. I don’t want to give too much away, but ākonga were immediately in no doubt that poetry was a living, breathing art form that had a role in their own everyday lives. It was also fantastic to hear the individual, unique and sophisticated poems that the students produced using Apirana’s techniques.”

The staff and students alike appreciated Apirana’s down-to-earth, grounded approach, but also his passion. “It was fantastic to meet an artist who can talk about the power of language and writing. It shows our ākonga that writing is real, and that powerful writing is something that they can easily achieve, and incorporate into their own lives for immediate positive effect.”

Another strength of the visit was that Justin was able to extend its impact in the following days. After the visit, ākonga edited and published their poems, and wrote up a reflection of the events of the day in a style of their choice. They were prompted to reflect on their involvement in the pōhiri, as well as on their experience of the workshop and their own writing. “This enabled them to continue to engage with the world around them in a variety of writing styles, using a shared experience as the subject,” Justin explains.

Clearly, a lot of work goes into a Writers in Schools visit: what is it that makes it worthwhile? Justin has a thoughtful answer. “The visit reinforced our teaching mahi by making it relatable to the real, wider world. It was a powerful experience, and the writing was very thoughtful, moving and undertaken with serious (yet playful) intent. Apirana Taylor’s visit provided a unique and highly effective prompt for further writing and discussion.”