Editorial Reviews
“A profound documentary work with the power to connect us with ourselves and
each other.” – H. Hennenburg, author of TEN
“Her poetry celebrates and consecrates the ordinary in innovative ways, with the
possibility and promise of radical illumination.” – Dr Danson Kahyana, Poet and
Associate Professor of Literature, Makerere University, Kampala
“‘The Sheltering’ is essentially a personal story. Read it for the truth and crispness
of poetry set squarely in the uncertain times that we are desperately trying to
navigate.” – Rajani Radhakrishnan, author of Duplicity
About the Author
Khaya Ronkainen is a writer of poetry and prose. She is the author of two poetry
chapbooks, Seasons Defined (2018) and From the Depths of Darkness (2019) both
published via her imprint. The Sheltering is her first full-length poetry collection.
Born and bred in South Africa, she now lives in Finland.
Find the Amazon.com link of the book here.
Is anyone else experiencing a glitch with Amazon embedding too? Embedding makes the
screen tremble… and the darn thing doesn’t let you delete that block… WTH?
PLUS, I purchased The Sheltering in February and have been trying to review on
Amazon over and over. But, over and over they've been stubborn about accepting
it. In the beginning of July, I tried again and got the same results. Until...
Yay! it's up. They failed to tell me it was up, but hey, it is up there for all
to see. phew. Now we move on as my TBR list is taller than me now.
A gift: Will show you how to hold counsel with your feelings in silence
I checked today and there it was!
Reviewed in Japan on July 10, 2024
Verified Purchase
Not long ago, the whole world experienced the pandemic lockdown. Having never
experienced something of such enormity the banality of the time found some of us
(me) with a lack of words to express the unimaginative way we sheltered in place.
But not this author.
“Coming on too strong, am I?/ I mean to, for the air is stagnant/ We can’t sit pretty
and chew silence.”//
The poems in The Sheltering are straightforward. They helped me arrive quickly
at a place I know too but struggled to give expressions to.
“We mull over/ the question, “Is it the beginning or/ end of a dystopian era”/
unknown enemy,/ a personal space invaded/ humankind despairs”
Author Khaya Ronkainen’s words have a sensibility that soon put a clear image in
my heart. And I nodded, understanding, agreeing. I suspect the same will happen
to you: somehow her words will coax your words out so that you will want to write
down your own experiences about your sheltering in place from dawn to dusk years
into a book too:
“Equipped with paper and silence/ I do what writers do/ I bleed ink//”
Or turn into a diarist:
“iii. guilt/ sometimes I am a diarist/ i swallow my poems/ whole//”
Surely you’ll see what I mean when you read this collection of almost
80 illuminating verses.
And like the Author, all YOUR “jottings in an off-line diary about what I experienced
and witnessed living through the Covid-19 pandemic, Black Lives Matter, and the
recent Russian military invasion of Ukraine” will make lots of sense to you too.
You’ll find the words to hold counsel with your feelings in silence.
It is a beautiful poetry collection by a writer I admire.
“DEAR 2021, YOU SHOULD KNOW Dear 2021 As you make an exit, I thought you
should know that I’m happy to see you go. For you entered the world with an air
of superiority and thought yourself better than 2020, whose antics left us reeling.
You had no intention of improving the sorry state of affairs, but to push your own
agenda, making a point of exacerbating global crises. Then you had the audacity
to ask, “How bad can it get?”
— The Sheltering by Khaya Ronkainen
I highly recommend it.
I’m contemplating doing the same… will let you know my lovelies. Bee cool.
- Two Cures for Love: Poem by Wendy Cope - September 17, 2024
- For The Birds: A Reblog from September 2021 - September 16, 2024
- Giving Back: Insight Into One Poem Shared with Author Lauren Scott - September 15, 2024
Yay! I have The Sheltering in my TBR pile. I’ll be reading it next. I’m thoroughly enjoying another book right now and am nearly done with it.
Somehow I knew Khaya’s book would be superb. Thanks for sharing this!
Amazing TBR pile, dear trE. This community of writers is awesome. And so are the supporters. 👏🏽 Good books coming out faster than I can read, really. Thanks for all you do dear trE. You rock 🎸
🤗
You will love Khaya’s. I can guarantee this 👏🏽
🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾
Thank you trE for your vote of confidence!
Of course! You’re quite welcome! 🙏🏾💙
Great review Selma. I read Khaya’s soul-stirring book of poems that addresses grief and crisis in a profound way! Thank you for your recommend my friend. 🤗💖😘 I know Khaya appreciates the shout-out!
How could I not share this one? This one has all the good feels. And after the hassle Amazon gave me… but we won’t talk about that.
Amazon is the only convenient book seller for me. All others charge an arm and two legs to ship. I cannot do it. And with the yen exchange rate being so ___ everything is pricey
So I am not complaining.
It’s my utmost pleasure to promote the books I love. Blessings Amiga.
Awwww, see why you are so well loved Selma Martin? And honey chile, I understand the hassle you speak of, but an arm and two legs? Geez! 😲😝😱
Selma, this is beautiful.
I’m so happy you read Bridget. Thanks.
Great review! Sounds like a must read.
D.L. Yes. And I wish to get the word out about this lovely poetry collection. Just beautiful. Everyone will get something that resonates within the pages.
Thanks for stopping by dearest friend. Bless you. Xoxo
this sounds great
You always share such interesting books and I have such trouble to concentrate on reading at the moment. I hope there’ll be time for me to catch up one day 🤗
Oh, that’s because I have a knack for finding and falling in love with the interesting ones. I share only the interesting ones. Always. They go with my sincerest admiration.
Thanks for stopping by to read. I hope you can make time to read. Reading is a soothing gift we gift ourselves. Pure joy. Thanks for reading. Bee, Bee cool. 🤗
What a wonderful talent to have 🤗 thanks for your kind words. Bee cool, too
Hugs ╰(*´︶`*)╯♡
Oh, Selma! I’m super grateful for your generosity and affirming review. Many thanks! <3
PS. I’ve heard from several readers who had difficulties submitting reviews for my book. I’m not sure if it’s because they are not based in the U.S. In a world where time is money, your persistence with Amazon means so much to me.
I read and reviewed Khaya’s book and found it authentic and delightful. She speaks from the heart.
You did. I’m so happy to know. Yay! Really good book. Thanks 🙏