Susan Cook-Jahme: is an illustrative artist, author, poet & photographer. Her writing subjects are often taken from her experiences of every day life in Africa and can either make the reader roar with laughter, or cry with compassion. She and her Wild Life Artist husband Graham moved from Africa to England in June 2004 for a year's working holiday & have recently returned to the beautiful Cape region of South Africa. They often refer to their journals and photographic material of Africa's people, beautiful animals, flora and fauna collected over many years in Africa's most wild and inaccessible areas for reference to Susan's writing and their painting subjects. Susan's life has been spent in various African countries and the Indian Ocean Islands. She started writing at an early age and has had her illustrations, poetry, articles and short stories published in well know publications throughout the world.

Susan has won awards, certification and publication in many magazines, journals and anthologies over the years. Here is what some reviewer's have had to say about her work:

Laurel Johnson,Midwest Book Review:
Ms. Cook-Jahme's prize winning poetry has raw power and quiet introspection. She extols the rivers, wonders, and people of Africa as they are now, and laments the proud tribes, treasures, and animals that used to be. Highly recommended. There is an Angoni tribal proverb that says, "The dust of Africa never leaves the soles of your feet." If this heartfelt paean to Ms. Jahme's mother country is any indication, that proverb must surely be true. In poems that range from inspiring beauty to deeply troubling, Susan Jahme shows her readers Africa as she knows it.

Lewis H. Hart, MD
To us who have lived, loved and labored
in Africa, and who have traveled the highways, by-ways and dusty foot paths of this great continent,camped in its great Game preserves and
listened to the roar of the lions at night, it conveys a profound message. In her own unique, interesting and powerful way, Susan portrays the wonders, the beauty, the grandeur, the majesty of its unequalled scenery and wildlife and bird life. And then with fervent passion, she paints word pictures of the tragedies wrought by centuries of hatred and warfare between tribal factions that has plagued Africa since time immemorial. I was profoundly touched by "We Once Had A Farm In Africa" and "Withered Africa." both of which describe so well the situation in much of southern Africa today.

Elizabeth Borges, The Shaw Group Inc:
An author whose voice must be, will be heard. Perhaps one of the more moving passages comes from "Wistful Ache for Africa" in which she describes "Africa, like a lover,/Seeps into every pore,/Never leaving the heart/Of any man/Who happens to have the privilege/To walk in through her door".

Jerome Kramer from New Jersey, USA:
Reading Ms. Jahme's poetry anthology was almost like going on a safari. The poet has an uncanny ability to comically describe the warthog in one poem and stoically record the AIDS related death of her friend, Lobengulla, in another.Throughout the collection, the reader quickly becomes aware of the sharp contrast in Africa's beautiful land and the mighty struggles its people face through wars and natural disasters. I found myself re-reading these poems just for the beautiful images they presented.

A Recent Review on Susan's latest e-Book of poetry: African Dust on the Soles of My Feet by Susan Cook-Jahme Laurel Johnson Midwest Book Review 109 pages at 10.00 e-book www.authorsden.com/susancookjahme In her second full length book of poetry, Susan Cook-Jahme once again shows us her African homeland through loving eyes. Adding dimension to this book you will find breathtaking oil on canvas paintings done by the poet and her husband, Graham. The overall effect cannot be adequately described in a review. I'll give you several random excerpt samplings to demonstrate her gift. "Victoria Falls" extols that ancient wonder: Sharp intake of breath At the beauty Of roaring mists that swell And swirl up into the sky... Filming the skin Like a lover's caress. In "Star Gazer" we see a goat herder, the same today as he has been for millennia: I am the king of all terrain, That undulates far and wide, My workers hands my pride, The shuttered night my sanctuary, A humble goat-herd dressed in hide.... "Domain of My Memories" is a paean to the poet's homeland: Softly in languid teasing, you beckon, Rolling Country, you are the abode of my memory, You remain barefoot with childhood innocence and laughter, Defying all poetic imagining with your truth, I drink in the spirit of your eternal essence, my Motherland. "The Elephants Final Walk" was one of my favorites: There is a far place unknown to man Beneath shaded canopies of tall acacia trees, Standing silent sentinel on mud greased banks Congealed in fetid weed and reed, Where these great beasts walk their last mile... "Hamba Kahle" means "Go Safely", which will make a fitting final excerpt: For you who have drunk deeply Of the waters of this African land, Will find an aching thirst to quench, And return to drink deeply of it once again. This review has barely scratched the surface of what you will find in African Dust on the Soles of My Feet. The poet writes of love and death, friendship and passion, sorrow and injustice. For those who love poetry, or have a certain curiosity about Africa, Susan Cook-Jahme's latest book is a must read. Laurel Johnson Midwest Book Review

www.lulu.com
By following the link to this site you can purchase books,posters and other goodies...all with a wonderful African theme!

www.associatedcontent.com
You can follow this link to read stories, articles and poetry posted by Susan.

www.blogspot.com
This is Susan's blog where she posts her thoughts and experiences of daily life in Africa.

www.myspace.com
MySpace is where you will find Susan's social network.