Prisoner’s written works enchant judges
Otago Corrections Facility prisoners have spent the past three months sharpening their skills and honing their entries for this year’s New Chapters creative writing competition. Prizes were awarded this week. Some winners were uncharacteristically lost fo
IT was double delight for this year’s “New Chapters” winner after the same man claimed both shortstory and poetry prizes.
The Otago Corrections Facility prisoner, aged in his 40s, who was serving time for violencerelated offences, joked that his dual victory was never in doubt.
“I always knew I was going to win it,” he quipped.
“New Chapters”, a creative writing competition run by the Otago Daily Times in partnership with Corrections, is into its second year, and the bar has undoubtedly been raised.
The winner received news of his triumphs — for his story Once Upon A Time and poem You Are Stunning — during a ceremony at the prison this week, as did the three other inmates whose work was highly commended by judges Becky Manawatu, Emer Lyons and Liam McIlvanney.
Manawatu, the Burns Fellow whose bestselling novel Aue has won several awards, attended the prizegiving and heaped praise on the writers.
“I was just honoured to be trusted with reading your work and it was really hard to choose a winner because they were all awesome,” she told the men.
This year was the first time that “New Chapters” had a poetry category.
McIlvanney , codirector of the University of Otago’s Centre for Irish and Scottish Studies, said he found the entries “moving, harrowing, enlightening and inspiring”.
“The writers had clearly taken real pride in their work and that was evident in the quality of the submissions,” he said.
Lyons, a poet, playwright and fiction writer, who is also part of the Centre for Irish and Scottish Studies, and who ran a workshop at the prison last month, was similarly impressed by the standard of work.
She was particularly taken with the winning poem.
Lyons described it as: “a poem of selfempowerment with shadows of intergenerational trauma. Clear, concise and daunting in vulnerability.”
McIlvanney was impressed with the poet’s deft handling of rhythm and rhyme.
“But what sets the poem apart is the unexpected twist in that final couplet, where we realise that the speaker is addressing himself,” he said. “This is a poem with real heart and intelligence.”
A prisoner in his 40s claimed first prize in both the poetry and shortstory categories of New Chapters. He spoke to Rob Kidd.
What was it like to find out you had won not only one but both prizes?
I always knew I was going to win it. Haha.
How much writing have you done in the past?
Where it all started was when I did a programme in Invercargill Prison and some of my English exam curriculum was to write short stories. I did a couple of stories there and my teacher recognised I’ve got a talent for words. She was the one that cottoned me on to writing, so from there I’ve always had a passion for it.
What does writing mean to you?
It’s an escape from prison. It’s going into your own world in your head and living. I don’t know how other people write but I’m living it. It just takes you away from wherever you are.
The judges commented how effective your endings were in both your short story and poem. How much work went into crafting those finales?
I was doing a music course in here. I did that in five minutes. It was a song idea — write a letter to your younger self, so that came real easy.
The story is the retelling of an old Maori story just with a 2000s twist to it. It’s an old family story, so I just adjusted it. It’s a bit of a plagiarism really! I had difficulty keeping it to 600 words. The ending was the hardest part. We came to wananga and were learning about the power of karakia and how the tohunga used it back in the day, and it just flicked a light on in me. It just felt like it was meant to be.
What is it like to know thousands of people will be reading your words?
I always knew it was going to happen, I just didn’t think it was going to be from this.
What do you hope the public get from reading New Chapters entries?
I just hope they understand you’re hiding your talents away. There’s so much talent and potential in here.
What next?
I’ve got books in me that I want to write; nonfiction and fiction. To be an investigative reporter has always been a goal of mine. I just have trouble staying out [of prison].