Better off Read

In this episode I talk with romesh dissanayake. romesh's amazing novel when I open the shop (Te Herenga Waka University Press) was launched about a month ago. I was really grateful that romesh and I were able to have a chat. I asked romesh to bring along an object as a way into a conversation about his book and this stage of its publication. romesh suggested Água Viva by Clarice L

In this episode I talk with Sylvan Spring about their incredible book Killer Rack. https://teherengawakapress.co.nz/killer-rack/ In this episode we talk about a few things, so here are some links: Sylvan spoke with kitten author Olive Nuttall in what is probably the best thing you'll read this year - thank you to The SpinOff: ‘So gay, thank you for noticing!’: Olive Nuttall and

In the most recent episodes I've been talking to people about where they are up to in their creative projects. I've asked these people to bring along an object they are 'using' for this stage of the project. This episode was recorded at Randall Cottage while Rachel O'Neill was resident there. You can read more about Rachel at their website: https://rachel-oneill.com/ I have set up

Last Thursday, Whiti Hereaka was kind enough to come into Wellington Access Radio and have a chat with me on the occasion of the end of the year. I love talking to Whiti and I always learn heaps from her. Whiti has amazing recommendations. I thought I’d list them below along with the songs Whiti chose, which I can’t play in the podcast for copyright reasons. Whiti has a great I

Over the next couple of weeks, I’m going to be sharing some short chats I’m having with some of my favourite people. These are recorded at Wellington Access Radio and first appear on the Friday Drive show which I host with Amy Delahunty. In this, the first of these chats, I talk to Kerry Donovan Brown. I asked Kerry about what they have been up to this year, what they have enjo

On 28 October 2023, City Gallery Wellington hosted an event to celebrate the opening of Angela Lane’s amazing exhibition Phosphene As part of this event Joan Fleming and Aaron Lister wrote and read responses to these works. Joan wrote a beautiful description of their work: I read a short, strange essay about awe and the beauty experience with its inevitable fringe of disgust, and

I’m incredibly grateful to Jared Davidson and Verb Festival for letting me podcast this amazing event. Jared’s book Blood & Dirt: Prison Labour & the Making of New Zealand (Bridget Williams Books, 2023) is an outstanding work of scholarship and creativity. I am a huge fan of this book and I feel very grateful to Jared who trusted me with this conversation. At the end of

As I mentioned in my last post, I am at a really strange moment - without a project, unsure if there will be another one - and in this series, I am speaking to people at various stages of a project to talk process. I’m interested in talking to people about what activities they’re doing and what is useful. In this episode I get to talk to one of my best friends and someone who i

This is a photo of me not writing in my End Greyhound Racing New Zealand T-shirt. You should totally check out this amazing compilation album which raises awareness and support to end greyhound racing - here’s a link I have been not writing for months now. It is the first time in a long time I have felt like I am ‘not writing’. I am totally surrendered to the fact that I may

For this episode I wanted to share a story that I’ve revisited recently after a question that Jane Arthur asked me at a recent event at Good Books. Jane asked: Even before reading Audition, I’d clocked that your inspiration for it was basically ‘prison abolition’ and you’ve talked openly about this in interviews and in the book’s acknowledgements. I am so freaking inter