Carpe Diem Extra January 23rd 2018 -- Celestine Nudanu (special feature)

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Maybe you remember our exclusive cooperation with the FB-page My Haiku Pond Academy in which I challenged the visitors of that FB-page to create a Troiku. I was also the Judge and short before Christmas I congratulated Celestine Nudanu (Reading Pleasure) with her winning Troiku.

The Troiku Contest was to create a Troiku based on a beautiful haiku by Jane Reichhold (1937-2016):

golden shade
under the redwoods
evergreen violets

© Jane Reichhold

There were a lot of contestants and I have read really wonderful Troiku, but the Troiku by Celestine was really a beauty with a small reference to a haiku by Matsuo Basho (1644-1694) which I will give here also:

a night secret
a worm under the moon
bores in a chestnut

© Basho (Tr. Jane Reichhold)

Celestine Nudanu

Here is the winning troiku created by Celestine Nudanu (incl. the "base"-haiku by Jane Reichhold):

golden shade
under the redwoods
evergreen violets

© Jane Reichhold

golden shade
where my pillow rests
a slice of sunlight

under the redwoods
a worm burrows deeper
into itself

evergreen violets
a butterfly seeks rest
on the gravestone

© Celestine Nudanu

And these are the comments given by the judges (Michael Smeer and myself):

An amazing Troiku. Wonderfully crafted with love and honor for Jane Reichhold. Nice to read in the 2nd haiku an allusion to Basho's following haiku:

a night secret
a worm under the moon
bores in a chestnut

© Basho (Tr. Jane Reichhold)

Celestine is a long term participant in Carpe Diem Haiku Kai and she is a very gifted haiku poetess and family member of our haiku-loving family CDHK. Celestine writes wonderful haiku as you all could have read in the "time"-kukai:

midair waltz
first snowflakes and the leaves
frozen in time

© Celestine

In 2016 Celestine published her first anthology "Haiku Rhapsodies" written under, as a first idea, her pseudonym "Afua Peprah", but later on she decided to use her own name. It has become a wonderful and successful anthology. In the weeks before publishing I had the opportunity to read her concept (and later the final print) and I was in awe. Celestine writes really wonderful. A few examples:

 

bursting through the mist
silver rays kiss the leaves
ah, the dew, the dew

 

cockcrow
the stirring of leaves
heralding a new day

© Celestine 

Back in 2016 she has  asked me to write a review. I was honored, because I am just a guy who happens to have a haiku weblog to promote haiku as an art form. I will give you a highlight of my review:

[...] "With "Haiku Rhapsodies", Celestine has delivered a wonderful book full of gems. A few years ago I met Celestine online at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai, my daily haiku meme. Than she was just a novice in haiku. During the years she improved her haiku writing skills and I have seen her grow ... and now ... with this haiku anthology she dives into the 'big world'.

With this anthology she has reached a milestone ... I am glad and a bit proud that she has made this anthology after several years of publishing and sharing her beautiful haiku at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai.

As I read "Haiku Rhapsodies" I was overwhelmed by the beauty of her haiku and I love to bring a few haiku in the spotlight:

empty calabash
reflecting the fading sun
a beggar sits in gloom

This haiku describes a scene, which is seen very often, but it's not the fading sun here but the beggar who has the lead. It's a haiku in which I easily can recognize the spirit of Basho (one of the four greatest haiku poets ever) ..." [...]

 

Celestine is a very talented woman which is shown in her "Haiku Rhapsodies" shows this very well.

Well ... I hope you all did enjoy this special about Celestine Nudanu. And to make this a challenge too for you all I think I challenge you to create a troiku with the following haiku by Celestine Nudanu:

empty calabash
reflecting the fading sun
a beggar sits in gloom

© Celestine

This extra special episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until January 30th at noon (CET). Have fun ...!