Haiku as a genre is less known on the Ghanaian literary landscape. Against this background, the publication of HAIKU RHAPSODIES, (verses from Ghana) by Celestine Nudanu is very timely and historic. HAIKU RHAPSODIES explores a field where no Ghanaian poet has ever published in hard print. Hence Celestine Nudanu’s work distinguishes her as a trailblazer among her contemporaries. And most notably HAIKU RHAPSODIES comes in at the opportune time to answer the world call for haiku to be added to UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.
HAIKU RHAPSODIES is a finely structured book arranged under the following themes; Afriku, Nature, Haiku My Heart, the Divine and Death. Through these themes, Celestine Nudanu succeeds in transporting the reader into her world by creating animated, serene and yet powerful scenes. At the same time, the poet draws the reader into the complex yet fascinating phenomena of what life is all about; Love, Death, Spirituality and Life itself. The beauty lies in her skill of brevity as a haiku poet. She writes with elegance, using few words which like magic are enchanting, leaving the reader exhilarated and wanting more.
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.
Oh wow – what jewels you manage to find. This sounds wonderful – I love the power of Haiku. And thank you so much for highlighting Celestine’s blog – what a fabulous talent she is. 🙂
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I have been lucky in my connections and choices of late, I am always happy to share the blog love as well. Celestine always manages to give out some lovely imagery.
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Congratulations to Celestine!
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She is a wonderful lady with talent, I was happy to showcase her works on this humble blog.
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I’ve come to appreciate haiku largely through reading the words of other bloggers and it must be wonderful to be a trail-blazer in the way Celestine is.
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Same here, blogs are where I get my regular dose of poetry but now my appetite is whetted, to explore more and see what else I have been missing out on.
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Ste J, I LOVE haiku! On a personal note, they actually come very easily to me when I write them. The thing is, I never think to do it! This sounds like a wonderful book. Checking the library now :)…
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Well here is a reminder and inspiration. Go to it my friend and please share the results.
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It wasn’t available through the library system :-\ I hope I remember to look at B&N! 😀
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Amazon has plenty in stock my friend.
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I’m sure it does, but “buying” rather than “renting” books right now just isn’t going to happen. I’m so far beyond any reasonable spending on books, there’s no way to justify it lol
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This sounds like an amazing read. Well done for promoting such a diverse range of poets and poems!
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It’s been enjoyable looking at so many different styles of poetry and message, it’s a rich reading life and I loved every minute.
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Thanks a million, Ste J for such a lovely review. I’m honoured and feel humbled. Will it be too much to ask that you post this review on Amazon and or Goodreads? 🙂
Thank you so much my friend. 🙂
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I will put it up on both when I get time my friend, hopefully in the next day or day. I really enjoyed reading your words but then I always have.
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Thank you dear friend. 🙂
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Haiku is an amazing form where one can say a lot in few words. I am definitely putting this one in my TBR.
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I am starting to get into it a lot more since starting to follow Celestine’s blog.
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I like the sounds of this book! Thanks Ste J. I’ll head to her blog now!
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There is certainly plenty more to enjoy over there.
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Hmmm. It’s been years and years since I either read or wrote haiku; since high school, in fact, when we had to write different poems in different meters and etc. Maybe it’s time to dust off the ol’ pen and ink….
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It is time indeed my friend, armed with more words now than at high school, I know will come up with some fascinating pieces.
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I like Haiku, but never been able to write one. I think I’ll try and find this book. Maybe I’ll learn a few things about the art of writing Haikus.
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I am sure you could write some really good Haiku my friend but it is always good to learn and adding another book to the collection is always good.
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Yes, J. I would.love to find it in a local shop or library, perhaps.
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As far as I am aware it is only available from Amazon at the moment…
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Oh, I see.
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Haiku! I love reading and writing haiku poems. I’ve read some Celestine’s haiku poems earlier on her blog and, they are just wonderful! You have picked up some great books for the seven-day challenge… 🙂
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There is so much talent around, I think we are pretty spoilt for it on WordPress my friend.
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True that!
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I have read many of Celestine’s poems on her blog and it’s so nice to hear that she has such an enticing book! It sounds like you were transported to Africa in mind and enjoyed the journey very much 🙂
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I am sadly lacking in African authors so it is nice to keep expanding my reading horizons and going to far off places whilst having my feet up.
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Thanks so much for drawing me to Celestine’s blog and this book. I love the simplicity and the depth of haiku.
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As both Celestine and yourself have been followers of mine for so long, I assumed you had already crossed paths. I assume we all know each other these days haha. I am always glad to be sharing the blog love.
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Thanks Ste J!
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A fine review, Steve. A sample, one small haiku from this book would have been a cherry on top of the cake!
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I was going to but then I decided on the blog link as Celestine’s site has some of her book’s work on it as well as many other pieces and is a real haiku playground.
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Then I shall follow the link!
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Hi Ste J, please can I push you into posting that review on Amazon? Pretty please! 🙂 🙂
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Yes, of course, apologies for not putting it on before, I have another book to go on there too, sorry for my oversight, I get distracted too easily sometimes.
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