So happy to release Velvet Dusk Publishing's first book for 2021! Congratulations to
Bakhtiyar Amini! Thank you so much, Hemap
riya Chellappan, for your delightful illustrations. Click the picture below to read blurbs written by
Ed Bremson and Agnes
Savich
. Thank you so much, Ed and Agnes! Covert art and design by yours truly!
Here's the introduction that I wrote for this book.
As the title Carrying Sunrays implies, this haiku collection by Bakhtiyar Amini reflects the brighter side of the poet’s everyday experiences and his surroundings. From the first to the last page of this book, you will discover that he carries no excess baggage such as resentment, hate, or anger, despite all his misfortunes in life. Instead, he takes with him his rose-colored glasses.
new angle
unwilling to take off
my rose-colored glasses
His sense of humor, delight in children, compassion for little creatures, simplicity, and honesty remind me of Issa, one of Japan’s famous haiku poets more than two centuries ago.
Most of Bakhtiyar’s poetry is richly comical. It does not have the irreverent humor of Issa, but his poems never fail to make me laugh.
pension fund
what if I decide to live
until I’m one hundred
His haiku focuses not only on the humorous side of human nature, but also on nature.
world map
a fly choosing
my country
Like Issa, Bakhtiyar is fond of children, as evident in the following haiku:
unfamiliar flower
let me call you
by my daughter’s name
The lives of the smallest creatures also draw his attention. He speaks to them with compassion and reverence.
turning off the light
you have to go to sleep, too
little moths
The previous senryu takes me back to one of Issa’s hundreds of poems about flies, fleas, crickets, bugs, and other small creatures.
Don’t worry, spiders
I keep house
casually
From my email exchanges with Bakhtiyar, I discovered a few significant facts about his life that bear similarity to Issa's. Just as Issa lived in a village, Bakhtiyar was born and raised in a village in Tajikistan. In their poetry, both display, not only their keen awareness of their rural surroundings, but also their honesty in revealing life’s circumstances.
insomnia
counting again
dogs in the village
village home
a shoelace on the door
instead of a lock
With the use of simple words, Bakhtiyar reveals universal truths—based on his own personal tragedies—that are contemporary and timeless.
refugee camp
pork and beef cooking
in the samе pan
Although he is similar in many ways to Issa, Bakhtiyar undoubtedly stands out in the haiku community because of his rose-colored glasses and his flair for the unexpected, which are enriched by his unique experiences, intense awareness, and openness to see the extraordinary in ordinary things.
looking for myself
the sun fits into
a raindrop
(inspired by Omar Khayyam, a famous Persian poet)
—Christine L. Villa, Founding Editor of Frameless Sky
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