Monday, July 13, 2015

Carpe Diem Special #156 Adjei's third "silvery curtain"


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

It's my pleasure to present the third CD Special by Adjei Agyei Baah. As in his second CD Special I will share his haiku inspired on our prompts, because of the fact that he hasn't yet his own weblog. This episode I also use to introduce him a little bit more to you. Here is his biography:

Adjei Agyei-Baah is from Ghana and is the co-founder of Poetry Foundation Ghana. He is a teacher of English language and also part-time lecturer at Institute of Continuing and Distance Education, University of Ghana, Kumasi Campus. He doubles as the co-editor of Poetry Ink Journal, a yearly poetry anthology in Ghana. He is widely anthologized, both home and abroad.

He is a devotee of the Japanese poetry form haiku, and presently championing a new haiku breed dubbed “Afriku” which focus on the African setting and draw on extensively on African images and symbols. He was motivated to explore haiku three years ago by the works of his fellow African poets like Nana Fredua-Agyemang (Ghana), and Prince K. Mensah (Ghana) and Emmanuel-Abdalmasih Samson (Nigeria) and after pursued works of the haiku masters like Basho, Buson, Shiki, Issa etc for enlightenment and direction. Adjei has one poetry (Embers of Fireflies) and two haiku collections awaiting publication.

He has written and published in international journals and e-zines such as Shamrock, Frogpong, World Haiku Review and The Heron’s Nest.

In the words of Alan Summer, the editor of With Words Magazine, Adjei is:

“A rising star, strong contender and extremely relevant and important. A voice to watch, the name will become better known”.

As you have read Adjei is already well known for his work as an haiku poet. I really was surprised as I read this biography, because, before he contacted me through email, I never had heard of him. Therefore I am so glad to bring his haiku to your attention here at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai ... and I am proud that I can and may bring his haiku to the world, to our haiku family.

Here are his haiku submissions for last week's prompts:

Rainbow

rainbow:
the rain and his so-called bowl
little kids argued all day


Summer waves

caked lagoon
migratory waves
home again



Credits: The Boti Falls (Ghana) | © Sarah Benke

Waterfall

silvery curtain
on a mountain wall-
waterfall!


Straw hat

riverbank
in my hat's shadow
a fingerling


Fountain


first sail...
inside his paper boat
the weight of water


© Adjei Agyei Baah


A great series of haiku (or afriku) I think and I am glad that I have the opportunity to share them here with you.

I have chosen to respond on Adjei's haiku about "waterfall" with a haiku which I once wrote in the classical way several years ago, so this one is from my archives.

puzzle resolved
the sound of a waterfall
makes me happy

© Chèvrefeuille

This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7.00 PM (CET) and will remain open until July 16th at noon (CET). I will (try to) publish our next episode, a new Tokubetsudesu episode, later on. For now ... enjoy the read and be inspired.

 

1 comment:

  1. When I read the haiku I sometimes get puzzled by the twisting of clever, complex words. I think 3 haiku recently shown on CDHK:

    summer wind
    through the opening of the sliding door -
    this piercing sound

    Basho

    riverbank
    in my hat's shadow
    a fingerling

    Adjei Agyei-Baah

    puzzle resolved
    the sound of a waterfall
    makes me happy

    Chèvrefeuille

    Show what you can do - and how far you can reach with Simplicity.

    ReplyDelete