Sent to prison at age of 17, Nicholas Khan learned to read with the guidance of a fellow incarcerated person serving a life sentence and, after discovering Tupac Shakur’s The Rose That Grew From Concrete, developed a passion for poetry. Using an illegal phone inside prison, he began sharing his work, which eventually led to the publication of two poetry books and recognition beyond prison walls.
His talent caught the attention of the Commissioner of Prisons, who provided opportunities for Nicholas to mentor youth, promote his work on television and radio, and perform spoken-word poetry. He became the first incarcerated person in Trinidad to have a public book launch and participate in a spoken-word slam. Alongside his younger brother, he started Dreamstar Branding, a T-shirt printing business aimed at keeping youth on a positive path.
Shortly after his release in 2023, Nicholas became Reintegration Coordinator for the Link Up program, a Prison-to-College Pipeline initiative at the College of Science, Technology and Applied Arts (COSTAATT), where he also received a full scholarship and founded the school’s first spoken-word poetry club.Nicholas currently serves as Trinidad & Tobago Team Leader for the Incarceration Nations Network (INN), overseeing programs including the Prison-to-College Pipeline, legal empowerment initiatives, therapeutic arts workshops in the youth facility and The Writing on the Wall business enterprises. He has represented INN internationally in Brazil, Antigua, Jamaica, and South Africa.