Janaka was born in the Sri Lankan hill capital of Kandy. He came to Brisbane via London, where he spent much of his life. He caught the poetry bug as a medical student in London, and first performed poetry in London at the Stoke Newington International Airport in 2009.
He writes about his experiences as an immigrant in two continents. He also writes narrative poetry, often exploring Sri Lankan stories.
His first poetry collection, blackbirds don’t mate with starlings, has been published by UQP, and is available from their website: https://www.uqp.com.au/books/blackbirds-dont-mate-with-starlings
Janaka has performed at the OzAsia Festival in Adelaide, at the Queensland Poetry Festival, and at other poetry venues in Brisbane and Melbourne.
He has been published in Cordite Poetry Review, Peril Magazine, Rabbit Poetry Journal, and Queensland Poetry Festival anthologies.
For two years, he was the Sri Lankan voice in The Cordon, the ESPNCricinfo.com cricket blog.
He has had two stories published in a Sr Lankan Hint Fiction collection entitled SHORT & SWEET
He has worked with Ravikesh Singh, a renowned tabla player, to form Dubla, a poetry and tabla collective.
Their first CD, A Beautiful Land, is available here: www.dubla1.bandcamp.com/releases
