Overview

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 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. 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 About the Author 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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9781916248861

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Reviews

All the Birds were Invited to a Feast in the Sky crosses the celestial and the everyday as fluidly as the code-switcher alters language. Soukeyna Osei-Bonsu's voice is at once British, Ghanaian and Muslim, taking readers between the streets of Dansoman and Tottenham Court Road, to the pages of the Holy Book. From the cracked heel of the shaykh who doesn't know he is one, to the displaced 'alien' who can find nowhere to belong, Osei-Bonsu offers, with this collection, a home to live in through the dreamscape of her beautifully atmospheric poems. At the heart is a journey of finding the self and through an Islamic lens, finding purpose in the world. - Rakaya Esime Fetuga Poet and Writer '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 'All the Birds Were Invited to a Feast in the Sky stitches guidance from the spiritual realm and wisdom gathered through the complexity of living as tools to embrace the journey of rediscovering oneself. At its core, the collection feels rooted in the notion that light despite darkness can be found, and those who have been stretched across the diaspora can articulate their broken pieces but also how to put themselves back together again. The poems are intimate, layered, and invite one to reflect and question.' - Rashida James-Saadiya Arts & Culture Editor, Sapelo Square

All the Birds were Invited to a Feast in the Sky crosses the celestial and the everyday as fluidly as the code-switcher alters language. Soukeyna Osei-Bonsu's voice is at once British, Ghanaian and Muslim, taking readers between the streets of Dansoman and Tottenham Court Road, to the pages of the Holy Book. From the cracked heel of the shaykh who doesn't know he is one, to the displaced 'alien' who can find nowhere to belong, Osei-Bonsu offers, with this collection, a home to live in through the dreamscape of her beautifully atmospheric poems. At the heart is a journey of finding the self and through an Islamic lens, finding purpose in the world. - Rakaya Esime Fetuga Poet and Writer '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 'All the Birds Were Invited to a Feast in the Sky stitches guidance from the spiritual realm and wisdom gathered through the complexity of living as tools to embrace the journey of rediscovering oneself. At its core, the collection feels rooted in the notion that light despite darkness can be found, and those who have been stretched across the diaspora can articulate their broken pieces but also how to put themselves back together again. The poems are intimate, layered, and invite one to reflect and question.' - Rashida James-Saadiya Arts & Culture Editor, Sapelo Square

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