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.
This one comes from My Heart evoking the simple pleasures of being in love
butter on toast
the taste of you
at breakfast
You can read a review by Gillena Cox at Lunch Break and buy this lovely collection from Amazon. That’s a link to Amazon.au, UK and US readers will need to use their own sites, just search for Haiku Rhapsodies.
ANZ LitLovers LitBlog 
Ow Lisa, what can I say? Thanks a million. I did not know you had reviewed my book here. I visited Goodreads and saw your review there which led me to your blog. Thanks so much. :-)
Will it be too much to ask you to write the review on Amazon as well? Thanks :-)
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By: readinpleasure on October 27, 2016
at 3:50 am
Hello Celestine, your haiku have brought me so much pleasure and consolation as they pop into my inbox, I just had to review the book when it became available:)
I have also reviewed it at Library Thing as well as at Goodreads, and I Tweeted it and added it to my ANZ LitLovers Facebook page as well. But alas, I do not review books on Amazon, not ever. However what a friend could do for you is to add this link to a review of hers, and that would bring readers here to see it.
I hope it is very successful:)
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By: Lisa Hill on October 27, 2016
at 9:23 am
Thank you Lisa. I do understand. You’ve done so much for me, and I truly appreciate. :-)
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By: readinpleasure on October 27, 2016
at 11:16 pm
[…] To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2016/10/11/h… […]
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By: Lisa Hill Reviews Haiku Rhapsodies | Reading Pleasure on October 27, 2016
at 11:15 pm