Cauc/asian by Neetha Kunaratnam
We were delighted to host the launch of Neetha Kunaratnam’s second poetry collection, Cauc/asian, at The Space on Monday.
Neetha, supported by Mr Rod Rands-Webb on drums, read and performed a selection of poems from Cauc/asian and one from his first collection, Just Because, which was highly commended in the 2019 Forward Prizes.
Powerfully exploring themes of ecological collapse, colonialism, the state of the nation and Brexit, Neetha also spoke about being Asian in a Caucasian context, and his children growing up with dual 'Cauc/asian’ heritage, experiences which are interrogated in the poems. The striking cover image of Cauc/asian was created by Neetha’s daughter Amber, aged 10, who was in the audience.
Neetha was introduced by Sarah Westcott, whose second collection, Bloom, was longlisted for The Laurel Prize for eco-poetry, 2022. She read three poems vividly exploring themes of birds, science and the natural world.
Neetha Kunaratnam is Head of Theory of Knowledge at Sevenoaks School. He was awarded the Geoffrey Dearmer Prize for 2007 by Poetry Review. He gained his MA in Creative Writing in 2008 from RHUL, studying under Andrew Motion and Jo Shapcott. He features in The Forward Prizes Poems of the Decade 2011-20.
His work also appears in the anthologies Off the Shelf (Picador, ed. Carol Ann Duffy) and Out of Sri Lanka (Bloodaxe).
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