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Haiku Rhapsodies – Yet Another Review

19 Monday Feb 2018

Posted by readinpleasure in African Women Writers, Afriku, Ghana Association of Writers, Haiku, Haiku My Heart, Micropoetry, Nature, Poetry, Publication, Reviews

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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. 🙂

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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:

Ste J Reviews Haiku Rhapsodies

28 Wednesday Jun 2017

Posted by readinpleasure in African Women Writers, Afriku, Events, Ghana Association of Writers, Haiku, Haiku My Heart, Micropoetry, Poetry, Publication

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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 Exquisite haiku and senryu from Ghana 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:

HAIKU RHAPSODIES – ANOTHER EXCITING REVIEW!

23 Friday Jun 2017

Posted by readinpleasure in African Women Writers, Afriku, Events, Ghana Association of Writers, Haiku, Haiku My Heart, Micropoetry, Poetry, Publication

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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 Exquisite haiku and senryu from Ghana 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:

Debbi Antebi Reviews Haiku Rhapsodies

21 Wednesday Jun 2017

Posted by readinpleasure in African Women Writers, Afriku, Events, Ghana Association of Writers, Guests, Haiku, Haiku My Heart, Micropoetry, Poetry, Publication

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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 Exquisite haiku and senryu from Ghana 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:

Haiku My Heart: Sunlight

21 Friday Apr 2017

Posted by readinpleasure in African Women Writers, Afriku, Challenges, Events, Haiku, Haiku My Heart, Micropoetry, Poetry

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Adjei Agyei Baah, Afriku, Celestine Nudanu, creative writing class, haiku workshop, Nature, University of Ghana

Done for Recuerda Mi Corazon

On April 17, 2017, Adjei Agyei Baah, (a world-renowned haiku poet from home) and myself facilitated a haiku workshop with students of the Creative Writing Class of the Department of English, University of Ghana, Legon. At the end of the workshop, the students came up with lovely haiku of their own, twenty-eight (28) in all. Adjei and I came up with one each. Mine is produced below for your pleasure 🙂

sunlight

patching up

the cracks in my dream

sunlight

(University of Ghana Workshop, 18^th April, 2017, me standing before the class, clarifying a point)

21/04/17

Links for Haiku Rhapsodies:

Haiku Rhapsodies – Another 5 Star Review!

16 Wednesday Nov 2016

Posted by readinpleasure in African Women Writers, Afriku, Events, Ghana Association of Writers, Haiku, Micropoetry, Poetry, Publication

≈ 6 Comments

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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:

Lisa Hill Reviews Haiku Rhapsodies

27 Thursday Oct 2016

Posted by readinpleasure in African Women Writers, Afriku, Events, Ghana Association of Writers, Haiku, Micropoetry, Poetry, Publication

≈ 8 Comments

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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 31840669 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: