I speak with Ben Brown (Ngāti Mahuta, Ngāti Koroki, Ngāti Paoa), the inaugural ⁠Te Awhi-Rito New Zealand Reading Ambassador⁠, from Aotearoa New Zealand about emerging and traditional literacies, libraries, and how books and storytelling connect us with one another. We also talk about the role of writing in youth justice, and how bookmaking helps young people to understand and express their own stories.

An updated edition of Ben’s memoir, ⁠A Fish in the Swim of the World⁠, was published by Penguin in 2022 and he’s also written many books for children, including the acclaimed A Booming in the Night and ⁠he's also served as the editor for an anthology of Young People's poetry from a workshop he ran at an Oranga Tamariki Youth Justice Residence⁠, which we talk about later in our conversation. 

Radio New Zealand has two recorded talks delivered by Ben: the ⁠Margaret Mahy Memorial Lecture⁠, where he addressed the power of imagination and its deep roots in te ao Māori, and a ⁠Pānui on youth justice and the power of words⁠. This⁠ diagram shows what Ben is describing when he talks about the harakeke plant.

The web page for this episode has more information and images

⁠A transcript of this episode is available⁠

I would love to hear from you! Find me at my web site robinmitchellcranfield.com