All the Birds Were Invited to a Feast in the Sky – Soukeyna Osei-Bonsu

A poetic journey from London to Ghana

This is a book which excavates identity and self-knowledge, a journey from the spiritual realm which also attempts to stitch whole the frayed fibres of diasporic belonging. The areas explored range from Africa to spiritual awakening taking the reader on a journey to self. Soukeyna Osei-Bonsu's verse evokes the beauty of the earthly and spiritual realms of human experience, navigating a poetic course from London to Ghana through themes of belonging and faith.

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About the Book

 

All the Birds Were Invited to a Feast in the Sky
by Soukeyna Osei-Bonsu

This is a book which excavates identity and self-knowledge, a journey from the spiritual realm which also attempts to stitch whole the frayed fibres of diasporic belonging. The areas explored range from Africa to spiritual awakening taking the reader on a journey to self.

i share this with you all
because a green boat
has since come to collect me

i saw a ghanaian fisherman
moored on the thames
and i didn’t think twice 
as i sailed away 

Soukeyna Osei-Bonsu’s verse evokes the beauty of the earthly and spiritual realms of human experience, navigating a poetic course from London to Ghana through themes of belonging and faith.

in the basement of the heart
cartographies of dispossession occupy the rhythm 

Her poems dance at the intersection between the mundane and the sacred, weaving the everyday through with perceptions of the eternal, the ancient and the evanescent.

i thumb through each black orb, counting the time
breath and matter, life and death, another human story
with the same rosary that made its way to me
that may outlive my fingers
purchase these nights before they purchase you
rain pouring into the lake at lordship rec
and a hundred and one purple clouds pulsating-
the edge of our galaxy almost visible 
through the london smog

 

Details
Author: Soukeyna Osei-Bonsu
Genres: Inspirational, Poetry
Publisher: Lote Tree Press
Publication Year: 2021
Format: Hardcover
ASIN: 1916248861
ISBN: 9781916248861
List Price: £12.99
‘Poetry that deals with spiritual experience and God is often summarily dismissed in our secular and materialistic age and that seems like self-inflicted blindness. Soukeyna Osei-Bonsu’s poetry is clearly evidence that there is much to be gained both in terms of aesthetic experience and existentially from being more inclusive. These are sophisticated and exceptionally well-crafted poems. They are enlightening and rewarding for all lovers of poetry who are also open to cultural diversity. I cannot recommend this collection too highly.’
– Iljas Baker Writer and Editor
Soukeyna Osei-Bonsu

Soukeyna Osei-Bonsu is an African writer and poet born in Bordeaux, France and based in London, UK. A SOAS Anthropology and International Relations graduate, her work explores African belonging and identity as well as Tasawwuf / the spiritual dimension of Islam. Soukeyna is involved in Black activism and runs several projects for the Black community in North London. She is co-founder and EIC of MZAB magazine, a quarterly online publication which explores adventure, culture and spirituality, and in her spare time has a keen interest in global healing practices, ritual and film production.

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