Karirā Allen

Author of ‘Spraycan Renaissance’

Karirā Allen is a teacher with Bridging Programmes at the University of Canterbury. Karirā likes to make sure students enjoy education and are learning new knowledge. He tries to find ways to help students gain confidence in their learning and to achieve as best they can. Outside of work Karirā likes basketball, watching rugby league, being outside, and spending time with his partner Jaya and their two children, Tapairu and Tūmoana.

'When I was younger, collecting comics was a serious hobby of mine. My favourite comic was the ‘Uncanny X-Men.’ I liked this comic series because the artwork was awesome and also because the comic showed that being different is cool.

I was also a keen reader of Final Fantasy Gamebooks. Not to be confused with the video game, Final Fantasy Gamebooks were pick-a-path books that involved using a dice and having a pen handy whilst you read. A lot of today’s videogames are based on this style of book.

I became a hiphop fan at age 11. Hiphop appealed to me because of the catchiness of the music and the artists looked like they were having fun. This fun and freedom of expression led me to other musical styles, and shaped who I am today.'