Haiku Rhapsodies – Yet Another Review

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Afriku, Celestine Nudanu, Ghana, Haiku, Haiku Rhapsodies, Reviews

Hello my friends. It’s been awhile I know. 🙂  I’m so busy lately and this gives me little or no time for blogging. Just to let you know that I’m still around, I bring you a short but lovely review of my book Haiku Rhapsodies, by a satisfied customer on Amazon, Ama Wale. Thanks, Ama. 🙂 I am taking this opportunity to urge all of my friends who have purchased my book and yet to write a review on Amazon or elsewhere to please kindly do so. 🙂 You know how we authors lap up reviews. Those who haven’t bought copies should please do so also through Amazon. You won’t ever regret your decision.  🙂 Thanks you. 🙂

REVIEW

This is a refreshing read for any poetry lover! The author’s choice of words are at once spot on, and engaging- leaving the reader wanting more. This ought to be a must-read for literature students.

Links for Haiku Rhapsodies:

Amazon

Amazon.co.uk

Goodreads

 

 

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Felicitations!

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Awards, Christ, Christmas, Felicitations, Ghana

Sweet Felicitations of the Season to all my lovely friends, home and abroad and all  May the Season bring you good cheer and all that you wish for.

I take this opportunity to thank all of you for downloading copies of my Award Winning Book, Haiku Rhapsodies from Amazon; God bless you abundantly. To my numerous customers who bought my Award Winning Book, Haiku Rhapsodies and who continue to buy copies even now, I say God richly bless you. I appreciate you all.

It’s been lovely blogging all year round, visiting and reading your wonderful works. I got so much fulfillment and joy from that. God bless you all.

Please, make someone, or your loved one happy this Season by giving him or her a copy of my Award Winning Book, Haiku Rhapsodies as a Christmas gift. Copies are available at the EPP Bookshop, Legon Mall, Accra, Ghana. You can also download or order copies from Amazon.

Wishing you all a wonderful Yuletide. God bless you.

 

 

Links for Haiku Rhapsodies:

Amazon

Amazon.co.uk

Goodreads

 

 

Super Awards!

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Atukwei Okine, Awards, Best Blogger, Ghana, Ghana Association of Writers, Haiku Rhapsodies, Independence, Reading Pleasure

Hello lovely folks,

To the glory of God. 🙂

On 11th November 2017, my book Haiku Rhapsodies, Verses from Ghana won the Atukwei Okine Award for Best Poetry Book under the Poetry Category at the 2017 Ghana Association of Writers Literary Awards as part of Ghana’s 60th Anniversary Celebrations. 🙂

On 28th October 2017, my blog, Reading Pleasure won the Best Blogger Award 2017 under the Literature Blog Category at the Ghana Writers Award.

The Awards! The Book! 🙂

Atukwei Okine Award for Best Poetry Book

Best Blogger Award 2017

Haiku Rhapsodies, Verses from Ghana

© Celestine Nudanu

14/11/17

 

Links for Haiku Rhapsodies:

Amazon

Amazon.co.uk

Goodreads

Ste J Reviews Haiku Rhapsodies

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Afriku, Celestine Nudanu, Ghana, Haiku, Haiku Rhapsodies, Ste J

What more can I say, lovely folks? Another sincere and beautiful review from Ste J, a dear friend and insightful book reviewer who lives in England and blogs at Book to the Future. Thank you so much, Ste J. Please, read on. 🙂

Celestine is a prolific writer of poetry, plenty of which is showcased on her blog, Reading Pleasure. After gaining a fan base in the past few years, a book was a welcome treat for her readers. C’s work has featured in many international Haiku publications and as such is already well recognised within the Haiku community.

With clear imagery, each bite sized piece is simply written but layered with visual beauty and thoughts personal to the author, this intimate showcasing allows the reader to see a place through Celestine’s eyes. The concepts of the world around her is brought to us in a series delightful vignettes which read like a moment captured in time.

Perusing these, I find myself transported to an Africa I found tangible, Celestine’s eye for observing the things around her and combining them into something so evocative is a pure joy to read. There is a feeling of peace and clarity through the book that encouraged me to take each poem and then spend time to build up one’s image and the accompanying thoughts around it.

The beauty of such poems is that I allowed myself to get lost in this new place, imagination took over and each piece felt like part of a jigsaw building up a picture of an Africa that was in part real and in part my own romantic take upon it. Naturally Ghana and a distinctly African feel came up a lot in my thoughts as I read through but there is also a good amount of content which is distinct from the African connection and appeals at a universal level.

This is a good book to dip into, exploring various themes – Afriku, Nature, Haiku My Heart, The Divine, and Death – and I found myself taking my time to soak up the atmosphere and then build up an image of this personal take on what surrounds us. For me this book is like one of those coffee table books, that one picks up and chooses a page at random but in this case, each morsel is best digested singularly, with concentration and with much reflection.

What are you waiting for my dear? 🙂 Order your copies from Amazon or for those in Ghana, just inbox me! 🙂

Links for Haiku Rhapsodies:

Amazon

Amazon.co.uk

Goodreads

HAIKU RHAPSODIES – ANOTHER EXCITING REVIEW!

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Afriku, Celestine Nudanu, Ghana, Gilly Goldsworthy, Haiku, Haiku Rhapsodies

I’m tickled pink to scarlet today (if it is possible under by black hide) 🙂 🙂  for I woke up to this lovely review of Haiku Rhapsodies from Gilly Goldsworthy of UK, blogging at https://lucidgypsy.com/

Please read on:

Celestine Nudanu has been a blogging friend for several years. We met through our shared love of Haiku, the Japanese short form poetry. She hails from Ghana, a country I fell in love with in 2007, unfortunately before Celestine and I ‘met’.

Haiku Rhapsodies, Celestine’s first publication, is a real feast for Haiku, the book is divided into five sections, Afriku, Nature, Haiku My Heart, The Divine and Death.

Afriku is my favourite. Our poet’s words are so very evocative, bringing back memories of my brief visits to West Africa flood back. Here are just a few examples to tempt you.

in tandem
child’s thumping feet
and fufu pestle

rush hour
hawkers trail the cars
bumper to bumper

mirage
the cocoyam leaf
shimmers

From ‘Death’, Celestine brings us the moving,

dreaming of the stars
you forgot to say goodbye
that final journey

and has a firm belief that poetry has a place in our final moments.
Haiku Rhapsodies deserves a place on the book shelves of those who enjoy the form, not just in Africa, but wherever we find ourselves in this vast world of poetry.

Well done Celestine!

What are you waiting for my dear on? 🙂 Order your copies from Amazon or just inbox me! 🙂

Links for Haiku Rhapsodies:

Amazon

Amazon.co.uk

Goodreads

Debbi Antebi Reviews Haiku Rhapsodies

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Afriku, Celestine Nudanu, Debbi Antebi, Ghana, Haiku Rhapsodies

Folks, another beautiful review of Haiku Rhapsodies from Debbi Antebi, UK. Thanks a million, Debbi.

REVIEW

Delightful Collection of Haiku, 20 Jun. 2017

Spanning five main themes, Celestine’s poems make us see, hear, smell, taste and touch, as well as feel. Her haiku depict stories that are universal, and they do so through vivid imagery. One of my personal favorites is about a mother gathering her unsold melons at sundown. This haiku evokes feelings of sorrow and hopelessness in twelve short syllables, capturing big emotions in a concise way. I have many other favorite poems in the book, and I am confident that the readers will enjoy exploring them just as much as I did. Strongly recommended for all poetry lovers!

Links for Haiku Rhapsodies:

Amazon

Amazon.co.uk

Goodreads

Review: Afriku (Haiku and Senryu from Ghana) by Adjei Agyei Baah

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Adjei Agyei Baah, Africa, Afriku, Ghana, Haiku, Red Moon Press

Title: Afriku (Haiku and Senryu from Ghana)

Author: Adjei Agyei Baah

Binding: Paperback

Genre: Poetry (Haiku/Afriku)

Pages: 87

Publication Date: 2016

Publishers: Red Moon Press, USA

Review

Happy New Year to you all my lovely friends. I pray this year brings us all much joy and achievement. I am on leave but I shall be blogging every now and then.

Today, I’m posting well, a sort of review of AFRIKU, HAIKU AND SENRYU FROM GHANA. by Adjei Agyei Baah, a fellow Ghanaian and one of the first to write haiku, (long before me) in Ghana. He is the first to coin the term Afriku; haiku written to denote the peculiar culture and imagery of Africa.

Adjei’s is able to capture the depth and wealth of African sounds, sights, images and smells in simple and yet rich language. The added beauty of this debut jewel of a haiku and senryu collection is the translations from English into the local vernacular, Akan. 

How excited l was yesterday as l delved into the book and feasted my eyes and senses.

Simply check these out:

morning dew
perhaps heaven weeps
for mankind.

How very apt. How so profound.

distant cry
the heart fall
of a mother

My heart did a flip when l read this. Motherhood, the joys and pain.

just a moment –
distant lightening connects
sky and earth.

The sheer brilliance, the beauty of such a phenomenon as l imagined it.

Oh and many more.

It is a must to grab a copy of AFRIKU, HAIKU AND SENRYU FROM GHANA. Well done my brother. You make Ghana proud. Adjei’s book is yet to hit Amazon but copies can be obtained from the Red Moon Press.

 

About the Author

Adjei Agyei-Baah is a founding partner of Poetry Foundation Ghana, a teacher, and lecturer for Serwaa Nyarko Girls Senior High School, Kumasi and Institute of Continuing and Distance Education, University of Ghana respectively. He is also the co-editor of Poetry Ink Journal, a yearly poetry anthology in Ghana. He is widely anthologized both home and abroad and among his outstanding works are the praise songs “Ashanti” and “Ghost on Guard” written for the King of Ashanti and the late Dr. Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana respectively.

Adjei is a devotee of the Japanese poetry form haiku and has written and published in e-zines and international journals such as Frogpond, World Haiku Review, The Heron’s Nest, Shamrock etc. and is one of the top winners of 3^rd Japan–Russia Haiku Contest 2014, organized by Akita International University, Japan, making him the ultimate recipient of the Akita Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Award.

Adjei is a co-founder of Africa Haiku Network, and co-launched ‘The Mamba’, Africa’s first international haiku journal.

Haiku Rhapsodies – Another 5 Star Review!

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Afriku, Celestine Nudanu, Ghana, Haiku Rhapsodies, Khaya Ronkainen

Khaya Ronkainen had this to say about my debut haiku collection, Haiku Rhapsodies, after purchasing a copy from Amazon. Thank you, Khaya. Very much appreciated my dear. 🙂

REVIEW

A superb collection of simple yet intense verses that can be read in one breath, and some more. The author weaves with words, and brings about vivid and thought-provoking images. Brevity of a poem focusing on a particular moment communicates a raw thought, yet is beautiful and offers deep insight. In all, this is a joyous and an enlightening read. I highly recommend it.

Links for Haiku Rhapsodies:

Amazon

Amazon.co.uk

Goodreads

Lisa Hill Reviews Haiku Rhapsodies

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Celestine Nudanu, Ghana, Goodreads, Haiku Rhapsodies, Lisa Hill

Lisa Hill, whose fine book blog, ANZ Litlovers Litblog I follow and comment on, has reviewed my book Haiku Rhapsodies on both her blog and Goodreads.

Thank you Lisa.   🙂  Please read on…   🙂

If you’ve been following this blog for a while, you may remember that I have made the acquaintance of a poet called Celestine through her comments, and I have made reference to the haiku that she shares on her blog, Reading Pleasure. I subscribe to this blog, and so Celestine’s haiku pop into my inbox on a regular basis.

Haiku is, because of its apparent simplicity, more often a travesty of poetry, inane, banal and derivative, but Celestine has adapted this form to create small jewels of thought. Often I find her words consoling, sometimes they lead me to pause and wonder. And I have wanted to have them, not just in ephemeral cyberspace, but mine to have and read whenever and wherever I like. Today, to my delight I have discovered that Celestine has published a collection, Haiku Rhapsodies, and although I can only have it in a Kindle edition, I bought it immediately. (I really want a print edition, to keep by my bedside, to read as I read the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, much as many would read a Bible).

The poems are grouped into four themes:
•Afriku
•Nature
•My Heart
•The Divine

I can quote one from Afriku because it is part of the product description at Amazon.

empty calabash
reflects the fading sun
a beggar sits in gloom

Just eleven words, and yet immediately we feel it. A beggar has spent all day fruitlessly. He, or maybe she, has nothing. Nothing at all. There is no judgement, no appeal to the western pocket yet we know that this powerful image is representative of a great injustice in our world.

To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2016/10/11/h…

Links for Haiku Rhapsodies:

Amazon

Amazon.co.uk

Goodreads

Gillena Cox Reviews Haiku Rhapsodies

Tags

Afriku, Ghana, Gillena Cox, Haiku, Haiku Rhapsodies, Lunch Break, review

My friend and haiku poet from Trinidad and Tobago, Gillena Cox recently received a copy of my debut poetry collection, Haiku Rhapsodies in a book swap. I received a copy of her lovely collection, Moments which I’m currently delving into.

With her kind permission, please read below Gillena’s review of HR which she originally posted on her blog, Lunch Break.

❧✿❧Saturday Share❧✿❧ #19
Review of ‘Haiku Rhapsodies (verses from Ghana) by Celestine Nudanu

‘Afriku’ opens the rhapsody, with a serenade of rushing streams and weighted sun dances. Our hearts are steered to a few sampling from nature’s basket – of humanity, hunger and loss, and the mystery of divining.

bamboo flute
rushing stream calms
the savannah

black night
the voodoo priest
shivers at the moon

market day
the stench of unsold wares
fills her stomach

These micro aha moments traverse to wider meanderings, for the inclusion of a Ghana secular in a global essence. Her chapter ‘Nature’. Shares such moments as

carnival
masquerades display
autumn

At the chapter ‘Haiku My Heart’, i paused a little longer in reflection, for the naming of this chapter, made me go back to first meetings with this sister haijin. We met through the linky redirecting of listed blogs at ‘Recuerda Mi Corazon’ – a Haiku blog hop hosted by Rebecca Brooks. So it was through blog hopping that i first read the works of sister haijin Celestine Nudanu. But this is side tracking a bit.

Celestine chapter ‘Haiku My Heart’ sensitises us to icons of family, sentimental, and passionate love. Here her ‘i-she,’ flaunts, who is Celestine.

mother’s pride
his bead earrings
adorn me
(for Cyril)

chocolate delight
Valentine’s day
on my tongue

And finally in her chapters ‘Divine’, followed by ‘Death’; here she identifies for us glimpses of life in: joy, nature’s share of blessings, pain, and strife by a unique perspective, that is Celestine.

raindrops
ticking off the days
to Easter

fresh lilies
the little girl’s gift
sways the coffin

These are some of the signposts, planted along the way in Celestine’s rhapsody: the high roads, the low roads, the mud tracks, the lighted paths; as she takes our hand and invites us to journey with her, through her heartland Ghana. She presents in her epic wanderings gems of glittering haiku. Taking us along treks of delight, mood swings of teardrops, and the pauses for extra pensive murmurings from our heart.’Haiku Rhapsodies (verses from Ghana) is a definite must read, or you don’t know what you are missing. Thanks Celestine for a journey and a serenade unique to Ghana.

–gillena cox, Oct 2016.

Buy Links:

 

Amazon

Amazon.co.uk