Silk Road Literature has published an impressive Anthology titled “Nano Poems for Africa”. The editor of the Anthology is Egyptian writer and editor Ashraf Aboul-Yazid
Nano is a combining form with the meaning “very small or minute,” used in the formation of compound words; so (nano-poems) means
very short poems.
Short poems have been written in different forms, under the umbrella of varied names. For example, the haiku is a Japanese poetic form that consists of three lines, with five syllables in the first line, seven in the second, and five in the third. The haiku developed from the hokku, the opening three lines of a longer poem known as a tanka.
The haiku became a separate form of poetry in the 17th century. Some of the most famous short poems in history are written with quatrains, or four-line groupings. Omar Khayyám’s quatrains are the well-known example of this form, reminding us with the title that Edward FitzGerald gave to his 1859 translation from Persian to English of a selection of quatrains attributed to Omar Khayyam.
After publishing my call to join this anthology theme, I was introduced to a new short form of poems, exactly in two-line verses, created by Malian poet, philosopher and historian Ismaël Diadié Haïdara who called it “Tebrae”. Spanish poet and critic wrote : “If the five-line tanka have their poet in Takuboku, the four-line quartets in Khayyam their great creator, and the three-line haikus in Bashô, their most representative poet, then we can say without
exaggeration that the tebrae, two-line poems, the most brief so far, have their creator in Ismael, he gives us a new genre in short poetry whose roots are the songs of the African women of the Sahara”.
152 World Poets Wrote Nano Poems for Africa
Authors of the Silk Road Anthology, who joined (Nano Poems for Africa), edited by Ashraf Aboul-Yazid, came from almost 50 countries in Africa (Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Nigeria, Mali, Kenya, Sierra Leone, and South Africa), Asia (Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, Jammu and Kashmir, Vietnam, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Nepal, Brunei Darussalam, The Philippines, Indonesia, Uzbekistan, Malaysia, and the Kingdom Saudi Arabia), Europe (Bulgaria, Switzerland, Greece, Italy, Serbia, North Macedonia, Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sicily, Croatia, Belarus, Portugal, Montenegro, Germany and Spain), North America (Canada, USA and Mexico), South America (Argentina, Guatemala, Brazil and Bolivia) and Australia (one entry) while a single poet chose to mention he belongs to Planet Earth.
Authors of the Silk Road Anthology
Abu Zubier (Bengaldesh), Alejandro Vega Gaona (Mexico) , Althea Romeo Mark (Switzerland), Ana Atanaskovic (Serbia), Ana Stjelja (Serbia), Aneta Velkoska (North Macedonia), Anila Talib (Pakistan), Anna Ferriero (Italy), Antonia Petrone (USA), Aparnaa Laxmi Singh, (India), Ashraf Aboul-Yazid ( Egypt), Ashwani Kumar (India), Ayo Ayoola-Amale (Nigeria), Azasdh Noruzova (Azerbijan), Basudhara Roy ( India), Bharat Haridas Yadav (India), Bina Sarkar Ellias (India), Bakhyt Rustemov (Kazakhstan), Binod Dawadi (Nepal), Borche Panov ( North Macedonia) Branka Blagojević (Serbia), Caroline LAURENT Turunç (Turkey), Christopher Okemwa (Kenya), Daniela Andonovska Trajkovska (North Macedonia), Dareen Nor (Egypt), DarDiusz Pacak (Planet Earth) Dr. Biswas (India) Deepika Singh (India), Dimitris P. Kraniotis (Greece), Dina Oraz (Kazakhstan), Dr. Hj Mohd Ali bin Hj Radin (Brunei Darussalam), Dr. Nina Abdul Razzak (Palestinian poet who resides in BAHRAIN), Durga Prasad Panda (India), Dušan Dojčinović (Serbia) Dušan Stojković (Serbia), Eldar Akhadov (Azerbaijan / Russia) , Elizabeta Dončevska Lušin (North Macedonia), Elizabeth Esguerra Castillo (The Philippines), Elmaya Cabbarova (Azerbijan) , Emanuele Cilenti (Italy), Emilija Todorova (North Macedonia / Australia), Emina Đelilović-Kevrić (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Ernesto P. Santiago (The Philippines), Euda Morales –(Guatemala), Ewith Bahar (Indonesia), Deema Mahmood (Egypt), Farangiz Karimova (Uzbekistan), Farhan Tunio (Pakistan), Fatima Gameiro (Brazil), Fayia Sellu (Sierra Leone), Francesco Favetta (Sicily), Francisco Azuela (Mexico/ Polivia), Gargi Saha (India), Gioia Lomasti (Italy), Kerimbayeva Gulnar Rakhimzhanovna (Kazakhstan), Guna Moran (India), JahRose Nthabiseng Jafta (South Africa), Gurjeet kour Ghuman (Jammu and Kashmir), Harinder Cheema (India), Hillol Ray (USA), Hong Ngoc Chau (Vietnam), Ibrahim Honjo (Canada), Igor Pop Trajkov (North Macedonia), Irina Shulgina (Russia), Ismael Diadié Haidara (Mali), Jadranka Tarle Bojović (Croatia), Jagriti Roy is (India), Jasmina Hanjalić (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Jovan N. Bundalo (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Kalipada Ghosh (India), Keshab Sigdel (Nepal), Dr. Ketaki Datta (india), Khalid Imam (Nigeria), Lawdenmarc Decamora (The Philippines), Lidia Chiarelli (Italy), Liliya Gazizova (Russia), Lily Siti Multatuliana (Indonesia), Ljiljana Dobra (Croatia), Ljjbica Katić (Croatia), Lucilla Trapazzo (Switzerland/Italy), Lyudmila Sadovskaya )Belarus(, Madiyar Ospanov (Kazakhstan), Maid Corbic (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Manzar Hussain Akhtar (Pakistan), Márcia Batista Ramos (Brazil), Maria do Sameiro Barroso (Portugal) Mariana Bertizlian (Syria), Marija Juračić (Croatia), Marija Najthefer Popov (Serbia), Kolomazova Marina Alexandrovna (Russia / Azerbaijan), Marlene Pasini (Mexico), Maysara Salah El-din (Egypt), Masudul Hoq (Bangladesh), Melita Mely Ratković (Serbia), Dr. Brajesh Kumar Gupta “Mewadev” (India), Mirta Liliana Ramirez (Argentina), Moaen Shalabia (Palestin), Momen Samir (Egypt), Monsif Beroual (Morocco), Murat Yurdakul (Turkey), Murtala Mustapha (Nigeria), Mustansir Dalvi (India), Natalie Bisso (Russia), Nawar Ahmad al-Shater (Syria), Ngozi Olivia Osuoha (Nigeria), Nina Zarkova (Bulgaria), Niloy Rafiq (Bangladesh), Nina Alexi (Greece), Nina lys Affane (Algeria), Nivedita Roy (Kingdom of Bahrain), Novia Rika Perwitasari (Indonesia), Olga Levadnaya (Russia), Dr. Paramita Mukherjee Mullick (India), Raed Anis Al-Jishi (Saudi Arabia), Dr.Raja Rajeswari Seetha Raman (Malaysia), Rajdeep Sarma (India), Dr. Ranjana Sharan Sinha (India), Razija Buharalija (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Refdinal Muzan (Indonesia), Rouba El Yousef (Lebanono), Ruslan Saulebekovich (Kazakhstan), Sabaheta Eta Mersimi (North Macedonia), Dr. Sajid Hussain (Pakistan), Sanda Ristić-Stojanović (Serbia), Sandra Meryem Bartolić (Serbia), Shahid Abbas (Pakistan), Silvana Dimitrievska (North Macedonia), Slavica Gadzova Sviderska (North Macedonia), Slavka Božović (Montenegro), Sosonjan A. Khan (Brunei Darussalam), Sreedharan Parokode (India), Sreetanwi Chakraborty (India), Swapanjoy Chowdhury (Bangladesh), Swapna Behera (India), Taghrid Bou Merhi (Lebanon), Tatyana Terebinova (Russia), Tanja Ajtic (Canada), Tarek Hashim (Egypt), Toufiq Zohur (Bangladesh), Türkan Ergör (Turkey), Umar Abubakar Sidi (Nigeria), Urna Bose (India), Valentina Milačić (Serbia), Victor Klykov (Russia), Verónica Valadez (Mexico), Vesna Andrejić Mišković (Croatia / Germany), Vincent Van Ross (India), Virginia Fernández Collado (Spain), Waheeda Hussain (India), Wali Mahmud (Bangladesh) Zana Coven (Italy) and Zoran Hercigonja (Croatia).
Source: Ashraf Aboul-Yazid