Photo credit: Richard Wise
Saradha Koirala grew up in Nelson, New Zealand, and is of Nepali/Pakeha descent. She writes reviews, young adult fiction and is the author of three poetry collections: Wit of the Staircase (Steele Roberts, 2009), Tear Water Tea (Steele Roberts, 2013) and Photos of the Sky (The Cuba Press, 2018). Her poetry has been published in NZ Listener, Sport, Turbine, Hue & Cry, Cordite Poetry Review, Broadsheet and New Zealand Poetry Society Anthologies. Paula Green (NZ Poetry Shelf) described Saradha’s poems as ‘economical, graceful’ and ‘mysterious’. Hamesh Wyatt (Otago Daily Times) wrote: ‘This young woman will be going places in our literary scene’.
After she graduated with a Masters in Creative Writing from the International Institute of Modern Letters, Victoria University (2007), Saradha taught English and creative writing at secondary schools from 2006-2015. In 2012, she received funding from Creative New Zealand to complete her second collection of poetry. She has participated in the Nelson Arts Festival (2014) and Greytown Arts Festival (2012), read at the New Zealand Poetry Society Conference at the National Library of New Zealand (2015), been guest at various poetry evenings and events, and was part of the final panel discussion at the Truth or Beauty: Poetry and Biography Conference at Victoria University (2014). In 2017 Saradha performed poetry at Melbourne University during the Cultural Diversity Week program and was also part of the Cementa 17 Arts Festival in Kandos NSW, reading poetry with Derek Motion and Tanya Thaweeskulchai.
Saradha’s teen novel Lonesome When You Go (2016, Makaro Press) was named a Storylines Notable Book 2017 followed by an award ceremony in Auckland. Her third collection of poetry, Photos of the Sky, was launched by Tim Jones and The Cuba Press at Thistle Inn, Wellington in November 2018.
She currently lives in Melbourne.
Saradha Koirala’s website
Twitter:@Saradha_K
Steele Roberts author page
New Zealand Society of Authors writer page
Photos of the Sky review by Sarah Lin Wilson at The Reader (Nov 2018)
Article in Nelson Mail (April 2014)
Landfall review of Tear Water Tea (May 2014)
takahē review of Tear Water Tea (2014)
Siobhan Harvey’s review of Tear Water Tea (Aug 2013)
NZ Poetry Shelf review of Tear Water Tea (Aug 2013)
Interview with Tim Jones (Aug 2013)
Photos of the Sky (The Cuba Press, 2018)
Tear Water Tea (Steele Roberts, 2013)
Wit of the Staircase (Steele Roberts, 2009)
Lonesome When You Go (YA: Makaro Press, 2016)
‘Wit of the Staircase’ launch 2009 at Unity Books, Wellington. Photo credit: David Peters
'NZ literature is such a vast and varied thing' - Pip Adam