Talking to a Tree

Talking to a Tree – Poems of a fragile World

The New Poetry Anthology From AE Ballakisten

“TALKING TO A TREE brilliantly captures the essence of despair

that can force humankind to change. Thought-provoking,

devastatingly direct, this anthology is one that will shake the

reader out of complacency.”

Fiona Ingram, author

AE Ballakisten returns with his new anthology of Poems, Talking To A Tree. His debut anthology Heap Of Stones garnered plenty of critical praise and public appreciation and Talking To A Tree is already showing signs of following in that tradition.

Talking To A Tree asks the crucial question of mankind through the poems that make up its contents:  “Is this really how we want to live?”

In a range of voices and poems, the book surveys the state of humanity revealing the themes of conflict and decay. In his words we can clearly see the fear of the poet that we are rapidly eroding our humanity and threatening our already fragile world.

Author Fiona Ingram says of Talking To A Tree that it “Brilliantly captures the essence of despair that can force humankind to change. Thought-provoking, devastatingly direct, this anthology is one that will shake the reader out of complacency.”

About the author:

AE Ballakisten was born and raised in Mitchells Plain on the  Cape Flats and now lives in Johannesburg.  He has lived in the UK and USA and studied at M.I.T. and worked as a strategy consultant in the USA. He also studied corporate finance at the London Business School and worked in finance for a global mining company.  This work took him to 20 countries, 40 USA states and many hotels and junk food places. Now retired from active business Ballakisten is a visiting adjunct professor in strategy and spends the bulk of his time writing poetry and dedicating his energy to public service by working with numerous development and non-profit organisations in South Africa.  He will be spending a year at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government starting in mid-2012.

 Talking To A Tree Is dedicated to Nelson Mandela and its central hope is a return to our common humanity through the power of love. Talking To A Tree is now available at all good bookstores across South Africa for the price of R150.00. in a country where often hope, optimism and the appreciation of simple human values often seems amiss, Talking To A Tree is a refreshing, searing and insightful voice into what could be and what must be if we are to survive ourselves.

“It is such a satisfying thing to read the work of someone who is a real poet, able to work an image into a new existence.” Angela Read Lloyd, author