Tauranga-born poet Te Kahu Rolleston is one of two award-winning Māori artists heading to Canada as part of a cultural exchange next month.

The 2014 New Zealand Poetry Slam competition winner is travelling to Canada in September to participate in The Banff Centre's Indigenous Writing Programme, which is a joint initiative with Creative NZ.

Tauranga-born poet Te Kahu Rolleston. Photo: Supplied.

The Banff Centre is one of the world's leading arts and creativity hubs and the upcoming programme involves two weeks of intensive writing, followed by 10 weeks working with a mentor.

Te Kahu will receive one-on-one editorial feedback from a faculty member and present an excerpt of his work in a reading and spoken word series.

'I create poetry that links people to people, and people to places,” says Te Kahu.

'That's a big part of our kaupapa because if you have respect for your people and the place you are in, there is nothing greater than that.”

Te Kahu currently works with young people and communities, teaching spoken word poetry at universities, schools and community classes.

He is the ‘Kairanga Pao' (‘up-lifter of poetry') with the Toimata Foundation at Te Aho Tū Roa; a programme delivered in Te Reo Māori that engages with kōhanga and puna reo, kura, wharekura and communities to embrace Māori culture, language and wisdom.

'I visit schools to help them create pneumonic devices,” he explains. 'This involves kids turning their school work into poetry to make it easier for them to learn.”

Along with creating and delivering poetry resources and workshops for youth, Te Kahu also works with adults, often breaking down the misconceptions of poetry.

'There are a lot of people who think poetry is just soft,” he adds, 'but once they see my poetry they realise that's not always the case and you see the shift from ‘not interested' to ‘I want to do that' almost immediately.”

Te Kahu will travel to Canada with Auckland based Māori dancer and choreographer Shakaiah Perez.

Every year Canada's Banff Centre provides an opportunity for a Māori artist to participate in its annual indigenous dance and writing residency programmes.

Creative New Zealand's support for Māori artists to take part in these residencies includes funding towards flights, accommodation, programme/tuition fees and meals.

Listen and watch Te Kahu Rolleston deliver his poem ‘We Created Moments' below: