Smart thinking keeps prison creative writing programme going

What started out as a creative writing programme for young prisoners at Auckland's Mt Eden Corrections Facility is now spreading around the country's prisons. It's down to the hard work of the young writers behind Youth Arts New Zealand, a charity set up in 2017. The volunteers designed a creative writing programme, Te Kahui, for rangatahi in Mt Eden. A Creative New Zealand grant means they are now able to expand the programme through distributing specially designed exercise booklets. Lynn talks to two of the key players, Zak Devey (21) and poet Eric Soakai (23) who started an on-site creative writing workshop a year ago, before having to think laterally once the pandemic struck.