Wāhine Inside: Poetry and prose from wāhine in Christchurch Women's Prison

Te Kāhui Creative Writing & Youth Arts New Zealand

He pānui / Information:

From 2022 to 2025, Te Kāhui worked with writers at Christchurch Women’s Prison, both through our remote booklets and in-person creative writing programmes on-site. Wāhine Inside is a sharp, stunning reminder of the power and fierceness of wāhine; the stories they weave throughout their lives and the passion and purpose through which expression builds connection. 

Guided by the Editorial Advisory of Deborah Smith and designed by Kaan Hiini, Wāhine Inside features powerful prose and poetry from 22 writerswāhine. The pukapuka was first launched at Christchurch Women’s Prison in December 2025, where several contributors read out their pieces. 

Wāhine Inside is just a selection of the incredible work from these imaginative, creative, strong and talented storytellers. Some works were shared in person during our creative expression workshops on-site, while others were submitted through our remote booklet programme. 

This anthology contains poems, stories, essays, lyrics, letters, recipes and illustrations. Some pieces contain tender details of treasured memories, while others articulate simple, powerful mantras in a fight for collective liberation. Whatever the subject or approach, we wish to honour these storytellers. 

Tō mātou kaupapa / Our Purpose:

Te Kāhui is a dynamic kaupapa that equips storytellers with the skills, space and support to realise their creative voice. We achieve this by facilitating equitable and accessible tailored programming for rangatahi and wāhine in consultation with the communities they hold close, using poetry, spoken word, rap, prose, and other mediums.

Read more about the kaupapa on: tekaahuicreativewriting.org 

IG: te_kaahui