Kiran Dass
@steelydass.bsky.social
The Gradual Shipwreck
Writer. Books & Music
#MDANT 🏅
Programme Director: WORD Christchurch
Views my own
Writer. Books & Music
#MDANT 🏅
Programme Director: WORD Christchurch
Views my own
Reposted by Kiran Dass
It was recommended by @steelydass.bsky.social who truly never misses with her picks!
November 16, 2025 at 7:37 PM
It was recommended by @steelydass.bsky.social who truly never misses with her picks!
Two of my worlds/interest areas come together in ‘The Silver Book’: Pier Paolo Pasolini & Olivia Laing!
November 6, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Two of my worlds/interest areas come together in ‘The Silver Book’: Pier Paolo Pasolini & Olivia Laing!
WORD Christchurch festival kicks off on Wednesday 27 August - 31 August! Have you got your tickets yet? I’m
hosting this session ‘This Band Could Be Your Life’ which is perfect for music lovers. Four writers tell us about a band/musician they love. If you’d like any festival recs, I’m here for you!
hosting this session ‘This Band Could Be Your Life’ which is perfect for music lovers. Four writers tell us about a band/musician they love. If you’d like any festival recs, I’m here for you!
This Band Could be Your Life
Hosted by Kiran Dass, this lyrical session sees writers including Damien Wilkins, Brannavan Gnanalingam, Pohlen Newbery, and Claudia Jardine share personal tributes to the music and musicians that sha...
wordchristchurch.co.nz
August 23, 2025 at 4:01 AM
WORD Christchurch festival kicks off on Wednesday 27 August - 31 August! Have you got your tickets yet? I’m
hosting this session ‘This Band Could Be Your Life’ which is perfect for music lovers. Four writers tell us about a band/musician they love. If you’d like any festival recs, I’m here for you!
hosting this session ‘This Band Could Be Your Life’ which is perfect for music lovers. Four writers tell us about a band/musician they love. If you’d like any festival recs, I’m here for you!
Black Sabbath on my grandfather’s farm at the 1973 Great Ngāruawāhia Music Festival in New Zealand. I remember my dad telling me a crack up story about how they burned a massive cross at midnight which shocked the locals but when you saw it up close it was really homemade and dungy.
📸 David Stone
📸 David Stone
July 22, 2025 at 9:12 PM
Black Sabbath on my grandfather’s farm at the 1973 Great Ngāruawāhia Music Festival in New Zealand. I remember my dad telling me a crack up story about how they burned a massive cross at midnight which shocked the locals but when you saw it up close it was really homemade and dungy.
📸 David Stone
📸 David Stone
A real joy to join the divine Susie Ferguson and Mihingarangi Forbes on Radio NZ's Saturday Morning show for Playing Favourites where I selected & chatted about 7 of my favourite songs and talked about WORD Christchurch 2025 and my life in books and music. What 7 songs, though? Listen to find out!
Playing Favourites with Kiran Dass
Literary festival director and music aficionado Kiran Dass plays some favourite tunes and shares what it's like running WORD Christchurch.
www.rnz.co.nz
July 22, 2025 at 8:05 AM
A real joy to join the divine Susie Ferguson and Mihingarangi Forbes on Radio NZ's Saturday Morning show for Playing Favourites where I selected & chatted about 7 of my favourite songs and talked about WORD Christchurch 2025 and my life in books and music. What 7 songs, though? Listen to find out!
Reposted by Kiran Dass
WORD Christchurch programme director extraordinaire Kiran Dass @steelydass.bsky.social is Playing Favourites on RNZ Saturday morning tomorrow 11.05am. Tune in! www.rnz.co.nz/national/pro...
#WORDChch #pukapuka #WORDChristchurch ^DR
#WORDChch #pukapuka #WORDChristchurch ^DR
Saturday Morning
Presented by Susie Ferguson and Mihingarangi Forbes.
In-depth feature interviews, current affairs and news across a broad range of topics on RNZ National and online.
www.rnz.co.nz
July 18, 2025 at 5:40 AM
WORD Christchurch programme director extraordinaire Kiran Dass @steelydass.bsky.social is Playing Favourites on RNZ Saturday morning tomorrow 11.05am. Tune in! www.rnz.co.nz/national/pro...
#WORDChch #pukapuka #WORDChristchurch ^DR
#WORDChch #pukapuka #WORDChristchurch ^DR
Most weeks, I gaze up at the @praddenkeefe.bsky.social books on my bookshelf and think, “I wish my favourite narrative nonfiction writer had a new book coming soon…” 🙏
July 17, 2025 at 11:48 AM
Most weeks, I gaze up at the @praddenkeefe.bsky.social books on my bookshelf and think, “I wish my favourite narrative nonfiction writer had a new book coming soon…” 🙏
The 2025 WORD Christchurch programme is now live and you can browse and book tickets. The theme of the festival this year is JOY!
Love this incisive roundup from @secondzeit.bsky.social at The Press.
As ever, I’m here for you to recommend sessions and books I think you’ll love.
#TheJoyOfWords
Love this incisive roundup from @secondzeit.bsky.social at The Press.
As ever, I’m here for you to recommend sessions and books I think you’ll love.
#TheJoyOfWords
July 9, 2025 at 10:32 AM
The 2025 WORD Christchurch programme is now live and you can browse and book tickets. The theme of the festival this year is JOY!
Love this incisive roundup from @secondzeit.bsky.social at The Press.
As ever, I’m here for you to recommend sessions and books I think you’ll love.
#TheJoyOfWords
Love this incisive roundup from @secondzeit.bsky.social at The Press.
As ever, I’m here for you to recommend sessions and books I think you’ll love.
#TheJoyOfWords
Reposted by Kiran Dass
"Tender, bittersweet... I loved this memoir and have never read anything quite like it."
Thanks to @steelydass.bsky.social at RNZ for her thoughtful review of Base Notes. This really made my day.
www.rnz.co.nz/national/pro...
@whiterabbitbks.bsky.social
Thanks to @steelydass.bsky.social at RNZ for her thoughtful review of Base Notes. This really made my day.
www.rnz.co.nz/national/pro...
@whiterabbitbks.bsky.social
Book review: Base Notes: The Scents of a Life by Adelle Stripe
Kiran Dass reviews Base Notes: The Scents of a Life by Adelle Stripe published by Orion
www.rnz.co.nz
June 25, 2025 at 10:21 AM
"Tender, bittersweet... I loved this memoir and have never read anything quite like it."
Thanks to @steelydass.bsky.social at RNZ for her thoughtful review of Base Notes. This really made my day.
www.rnz.co.nz/national/pro...
@whiterabbitbks.bsky.social
Thanks to @steelydass.bsky.social at RNZ for her thoughtful review of Base Notes. This really made my day.
www.rnz.co.nz/national/pro...
@whiterabbitbks.bsky.social
Popping by to play some records at Civil & Naval in Lyttelton on Sunday for a nice cosy 3-6pm moment. Will be spinning a dolly mix allsorts jumble of interesting records, do pull up for a quiet arvo pint and natter to round off the long Puanga weekend!
June 21, 2025 at 2:05 AM
Popping by to play some records at Civil & Naval in Lyttelton on Sunday for a nice cosy 3-6pm moment. Will be spinning a dolly mix allsorts jumble of interesting records, do pull up for a quiet arvo pint and natter to round off the long Puanga weekend!
Sheffield Dreamin’
Need to get to Sheffield in October, somehow!
Need to get to Sheffield in October, somehow!
‘Yes, there was a riot, but it was great’: Cabaret Voltaire on violent gigs, nuclear noise – and returning to mark 50 years
They made music like sonic warfare, using steamhammers for drums and annoying anyone they could. As the band return, they relive the mayhem years – and their soundtrack spinoffs, from Attenborough to ...
www.theguardian.com
June 3, 2025 at 9:01 AM
Sheffield Dreamin’
Need to get to Sheffield in October, somehow!
Need to get to Sheffield in October, somehow!
Let's celebrate @coseyfannitutti.bsky.social visionary, singular icon and cover girl on the latest issue of The Wire magazine. We are so lucky to have her. I love that someone asked her about her lovely sounding garden.
‘24/7 transgression? That would be exhausting!’ Cosey Fanni Tutti on radical art, gardening and Kneecap’s ‘power and strength’
The Throbbing Gristle musician and writer answers your questions on everything from squat life to societal outrage and the best music for striptease
www.theguardian.com
May 29, 2025 at 10:16 PM
Let's celebrate @coseyfannitutti.bsky.social visionary, singular icon and cover girl on the latest issue of The Wire magazine. We are so lucky to have her. I love that someone asked her about her lovely sounding garden.
To celebrate the anniversary of the first episode of Shortland Street being aired on telly in New Zealand, let's revisit the time I not only got the word "c**t" spelled in full into the Guardian, but also a headline with the word "penis".
‘Please tell me that is not your penis!’ New Zealand’s Shortland Street in 14 key moments
Country’s longest-running soap opera marks 30 years on air this week. Here we celebrate some of its most infamous scenes
www.theguardian.com
May 25, 2025 at 9:46 AM
To celebrate the anniversary of the first episode of Shortland Street being aired on telly in New Zealand, let's revisit the time I not only got the word "c**t" spelled in full into the Guardian, but also a headline with the word "penis".
Never forget the dream I had where my friend bought a Mr Whippy van but instead of selling ice creams he was cruising around peddling mixtapes and bootleg cassette recordings of gigs by New Zealand underground artists 🍦
May 22, 2025 at 3:45 AM
Never forget the dream I had where my friend bought a Mr Whippy van but instead of selling ice creams he was cruising around peddling mixtapes and bootleg cassette recordings of gigs by New Zealand underground artists 🍦
Please watch this beautiful, powerful, important, true speech by Max Porter as he announces Banu Mushtaq & translator Deepa Bhasthi as winners of the International Booker Prize for Heart Lamp, the first short story collection to win.
“proudly walking into the abyss with a tote bag full of books.” 🤍
“proudly walking into the abyss with a tote bag full of books.” 🤍
Max Porter announces the winner of the International Booker Prize 2025 | The Booker Prize
YouTube video by The Booker Prizes
youtu.be
May 21, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Please watch this beautiful, powerful, important, true speech by Max Porter as he announces Banu Mushtaq & translator Deepa Bhasthi as winners of the International Booker Prize for Heart Lamp, the first short story collection to win.
“proudly walking into the abyss with a tote bag full of books.” 🤍
“proudly walking into the abyss with a tote bag full of books.” 🤍
I’m constantly saying “I just need to return some books to the library,” and am very aware how much that makes me sound like Patrick Bateman.
May 20, 2025 at 10:56 PM
I’m constantly saying “I just need to return some books to the library,” and am very aware how much that makes me sound like Patrick Bateman.
Reposted by Kiran Dass
If you like fiction & essays with "that dark NZ thing", Kirsty Gunn is at Tūranga on Monday 6.30pm talking to WORD Christchurch's @steelydass.bsky.social
Get your tickets Ōtautahi! wordchristchurch.co.nz/programme/wh...
Get your tickets Ōtautahi! wordchristchurch.co.nz/programme/wh...
May 15, 2025 at 10:14 PM
If you like fiction & essays with "that dark NZ thing", Kirsty Gunn is at Tūranga on Monday 6.30pm talking to WORD Christchurch's @steelydass.bsky.social
Get your tickets Ōtautahi! wordchristchurch.co.nz/programme/wh...
Get your tickets Ōtautahi! wordchristchurch.co.nz/programme/wh...
Reposted by Kiran Dass
I’m looking forward to seeing Kirsty Gunn in conversation with @steelydass.bsky.social in Christchurch on 19 May. Her previous two short story collections were very influential on my own writing (you might not see, but it’s there! She does atmosphere so well). wordchristchurch.co.nz/programme/wh...
What Lies Beneath: Dark Tales with Kirsty Gunn
Scotland-based New Zealand writer Kirsty Gunn is home to celebrate her latest book.
wordchristchurch.co.nz
May 15, 2025 at 12:16 AM
I’m looking forward to seeing Kirsty Gunn in conversation with @steelydass.bsky.social in Christchurch on 19 May. Her previous two short story collections were very influential on my own writing (you might not see, but it’s there! She does atmosphere so well). wordchristchurch.co.nz/programme/wh...
Reposted by Kiran Dass
'future classic from one of the most intriguing, inventive & compelling writers of our time. What a book. It is just jaw-droppingly breathtaking...She is such an attentive, exacting & careful writer & I think one of the best in the world today.'
@steelydass.bsky.social www.rnz.co.nz/national/pro...
@steelydass.bsky.social www.rnz.co.nz/national/pro...
Book review: The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey
Kiran Dass reviews The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey published by Te Herenga Waka University Press.
www.rnz.co.nz
May 13, 2025 at 3:12 AM
'future classic from one of the most intriguing, inventive & compelling writers of our time. What a book. It is just jaw-droppingly breathtaking...She is such an attentive, exacting & careful writer & I think one of the best in the world today.'
@steelydass.bsky.social www.rnz.co.nz/national/pro...
@steelydass.bsky.social www.rnz.co.nz/national/pro...
Reposted by Kiran Dass
“A future classic…what a book”. @steelydass.bsky.social enthuses for @catherinechidgey.bsky.social’s Book of Guilt - all of us early readers have felt just the same! www.rnz.co.nz/national/pro...
Book review: The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey
Kiran Dass reviews The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey published by Te Herenga Waka University Press.
www.rnz.co.nz
May 13, 2025 at 5:06 AM
“A future classic…what a book”. @steelydass.bsky.social enthuses for @catherinechidgey.bsky.social’s Book of Guilt - all of us early readers have felt just the same! www.rnz.co.nz/national/pro...
One of my most anticipated books of the year, especially growing up next to an awa in Ngāruawāhia & having lived in Whanganui where the awa was granted personhood in 2017 by an act of NZ parliament. The Whanganui was the first river in the world to be recognised as an indivisible and living being 🩵
Is A River Alive? is published today, 1 May.
It’s about the lives, deaths & rights of rivers—& how our fate flows with that of water & always has.
To the people, places & rivers whose ideas run through its pages, thank you so much.
I think it’s the book I’ve been learning to write all these years.
It’s about the lives, deaths & rights of rivers—& how our fate flows with that of water & always has.
To the people, places & rivers whose ideas run through its pages, thank you so much.
I think it’s the book I’ve been learning to write all these years.
May 4, 2025 at 8:23 AM
One of my most anticipated books of the year, especially growing up next to an awa in Ngāruawāhia & having lived in Whanganui where the awa was granted personhood in 2017 by an act of NZ parliament. The Whanganui was the first river in the world to be recognised as an indivisible and living being 🩵
Had fun playing records at Civil & Naval in Lyttelton. A witches brew of Pakistani surf rock, Afghani tea house music, krautrock, freak jazz, Nigerien-Ghanaian synth, Ethiopian keyboard music, Trinidad panharmonic orchestra steel band music, deviant pop from Europe & other gems. Pull up next time!
May 4, 2025 at 8:19 AM
Had fun playing records at Civil & Naval in Lyttelton. A witches brew of Pakistani surf rock, Afghani tea house music, krautrock, freak jazz, Nigerien-Ghanaian synth, Ethiopian keyboard music, Trinidad panharmonic orchestra steel band music, deviant pop from Europe & other gems. Pull up next time!
Reposted by Kiran Dass
April 24, 2025 at 6:11 AM
An unplanned coincidence! In the space of less than a week I’ve written about & spoken on the radio about 2 different sheep farmers. Reviewed the enchanting The Place of Tides by James Rebanks on RNZ’s Nine to Noon.
For those who love nature writing & reading about environment, ancient traditions.
For those who love nature writing & reading about environment, ancient traditions.
Book review: The Place of Tides by James Rebanks
Kiran Dass reviews The Place of Tides by James Rebanks published by Penguin Press.
www.rnz.co.nz
March 28, 2025 at 3:25 AM
An unplanned coincidence! In the space of less than a week I’ve written about & spoken on the radio about 2 different sheep farmers. Reviewed the enchanting The Place of Tides by James Rebanks on RNZ’s Nine to Noon.
For those who love nature writing & reading about environment, ancient traditions.
For those who love nature writing & reading about environment, ancient traditions.
Reposted by Kiran Dass
Remarkable story by @steelydass.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/world/2025/m...
Sheep, cattle and sequins: the enigmatic New Zealand farmer behind a famed 1970s fashion collection
A new book celebrates the life of Otago farmer and fashion collector Eden Hore, providing a unique snapshot of New Zealand in the 1970s and 80s
www.theguardian.com
March 21, 2025 at 8:33 PM
Remarkable story by @steelydass.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/world/2025/m...