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Above the Rushes
Paperback
Series: Cuttlefish Books Poetry, Book 10
Publisher Price: $10.00
ISBN13: 9781970860986
Publisher: Cuttlefish Books
Published: May 1 2026
Pages: 60
Weight: 0.12
Height: 0.16 Width: 4.00 Depth: 6.00
Language: English
A collection of haiku by Sheila Smith McKoy.
ADVANCE PRAISE FOR ABOVE THE RUSHES:
Sheila Smith McKoy's Above the Rushes is rich in images that present her perception of nature and human nature, as exemplified in these two beautiful haiku (scattered leaves / warmth / of the Indian Ocean and last night of winter- / I trace your lips with my fingers / stained glass window), which stimulate one sense for another to enrich a physical experience and an aesthetic appreciation of life to balance an inner and outer self.
While Sheila Smith McKoy's offering of haiku is at times dreamlike, a mysterious rush of nightmares, readers can also bask in the wonders and fertile grounds of Africa. With attention to its rich earth of flora, wildlife, and ruins, her exploration haiku is infused with texture and harmony. It is evident that Smith McKoy revels in the discovery of ancestral roots and connections, yet, she also accomplishes haiku that grounds us in those present, ephemeral moments:
dead deer lies
near the curve
off-white lily
In this first collection of haiku, we are offered and can indulge in the wide breadth of her closely sketched life journeys.
Crystal Simone Smith, author of Ebbing Shore and Runagate: Songs of the Freedom BoundHaiku writing is a journey; this book captures Sheila's. The haiku are about nature, family, arts, music and urban life. The book opens with a breath of fresh sea wind, captured beautifully in the 'scattered leaves' haiku. The author is bold and creative in the arrangement of pieces, we see a mixture: haiku followed by a haiku sequence, a meaningful bridge that takes the reader, from 'below the rushes' to Above the Rushes - a place the author wants us to arrive!
Some of my favorite haiku include, 'ornate carved door': an African haiku with an African season word, 'misty sunset' and 'above the rushes'. This is one haiku book to have, a beautiful blend of nature-filled and urban haiku!
Emmanuel Kalusian, Co-founding Editor of The Mamba and Africa Haiku Network.The haiku and haiku sequences in this collection bring together the worlds of nature, personal relationships, and dreams through lush imagery and innovative juxtapositions. Smith McKoy engages our senses and reveals surprising connections between the ordinary and the sublime, offering insights that deepen with each reading.
Ce Rosenow, senior editor of Juxtapositions: Research and Scholarship in Haiku and editor of Beyond Haiku: Japanese Forms in American PoetrySheila Smith McKoy's book Above The Rushes is a tour de force; her haiku and sequences about Africa are memorable as they unravel with vivid imagery and good details. For example, her poem sunset sky/leopard asleep in a tree/wild berries contrasts such vastness with small beauty in the natural world. Her poems evoke emotions, brush colors on the canvas of the reader's mind, and inspires one to pick up pen to write haiku.
Above The Rushes is the book to teach about the African landscape; it also strums one's heart strings with the rhythms of jazz. Please read this book, because this writer highly recommends it for its American and African American historical contribution to the genre of poetry, particularly haiku. Let your sensory perceptions experience this feat.
Lenard D. Moore, author of The Geography of JazzAlso from
Smith McKoy, Sheila
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