WHEN THE MEDIA ASKS ABOUT THE MAORI ...

I descend from the tides that crash and break against my ancestral mountain named Mauao. I am of the running currents that give life to our people. The island of Matakana is where I plant my feet and call home. Tauranga's sea, and Tauranga's people, are one. I am fortunate enough to spend a lot of my time doing what I am passionate about. I get to work with many different parts of the education system and with many wonderful communities by sharing my skills and culture, through workshops and guest speaking. I also get to share these same things by being invited to perform at many events, festivals and gigs where I perform poetry strongly rooted in a Maori-centric world view. I guess the aim of most poets is to publish a book. Personally, my goal is to make poetry, speaking well and oral traditions cool, so it will be appealing for young people to use.