Reshma Ruia (Corridor of Light)

In summer 2021, Manchester Literature Festival and Manchester Poetry Library at Manchester Metropolitan University co-commissioned Hafsah Aneela Bashir, Andrew McMillan and Reshma Ruia to write new poems inspired by their memories and associations with Oxford Road. MLF and MPL also commissioned Modify Productions to produce short films capturing the poets performing their work on location. The films were showcased at Manchester Poetry Library from 21-23 October 2021 for the inaugural Corridor of Light.

You can watch Reshma Ruia performing her poems Postcards from Oxford Road on location.

Reshma Ruia is a poet, novelist and co-founder of The Whole Kahani, a collective of British South Asian Writers. Her first novel, Something Black in the Lentil Soup, was described in The Sunday Times as ‘a gem of straight-faced comedy’ and her debut collection of poetry, A Dinner Party in the Home Counties, won the 2019 Debut Word Masala Award. Born in India and brought up in Italy, Reshma’s writing portrays the inherent preoccupations of those who possess a multiple sense of belonging.