Our guest selecting the songs is Romesh Dissanayake, a Sri Lankan and Kor-yo Saram writer, poet and chef from Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington.
His award winning debut novel, When I open the shop, is an ode to the city of Wellington with fresh voices, often under-represented in NZ literature. His protagonist Devendra juggles grief, mounting debt and strange encounters in his small Te Whanganui-a-Tara noodle shop following his mother’s death.
Romesh’s work explores ideas of identity, decolonisation and place. His latest is a new poetry collection called Favourite Flavour House, which featured in AUP New Poets 10.
He speaks to Maggie Tweedie about how music and food etch into his words on the page and continue to be a source of inspiration for him creatively.
Writer Romesh Dissanayake Photo: Nisha Hunter
