In Sunrise Over South Africa, a collection of poetry, Joseph Kuhn Carey tells of the magic, beauty, friendliness, and hope he encountered during his travels through South Africa with his wife and children. He shares many of the country's customs, including a poem consisting of the country's popular slang terms, which he refers to as South Africanisms. The subject of “apartheid” is touched on, and quotes are shared from the late Nelson Mandela. There are poems dedicated to South Africa's diverse wildlife, people, culture, and cuisine. Sunrise Over South Africa won the 1st place award in the poetry category at the London Book Festival in April 2024 and 2nd place in the wild card category at the same festival.
 
Joseph Kuhn Carey invites the reader on an adventure to South Africa—to open their senses to its magical landscapes, wildlife, hospitality, and friendliness of its people. As a South African reader, I appreciated how accurate the author's observations were and how well he received the positive attitude that South Africans strive to convey. There is a strong use of metaphor in Sunrise Over South Africa, comparing the odd-looking penguins, for example, to the late Charlie Chaplin. The collection and the country of South Africa become a metaphor for collective hope and aspiration and a father's dreams of a loving and kind world for his wife and children. Filled with stories of adventure, song, and dance and the quiet moments in between, Sunrise Over South Africa imbued me with a sense of magic, hopefulness, and renewed peace.

In the summer of 2017, Joseph Kuhn Carey spent nearly three weeks in South Africa with his family. In Sunrise Over South Africa, he shares those moments through vivid poems, each page capturing a meaningful moment from his journey, beginning at the airport, where he observes people waiting to board their flights. Later, he describes his arrival, when he pushed aside the fatigue of jet lag to walk through an African craft market. He also recounts the incredible animals he saw on his excursions, such as hyena cubs, a herd of zebras, and giraffes. He describes moments with his family and what he learned on his journey.

I loved Joseph Kuhn Carey’s poems because he explains things clearly. The scenes he describes are beautiful. For example, a sunrise over blue mountains, where the sunlight touches every surface like a gentle caress. But my favorite moments were the family scenes, where you can appreciate the value of living in the present. He describes pleasant moments, like sharing a pizza with laughter and good music, and unexpected situations, like when a fuse blows at the place where he’s staying. That makes the poetry feel natural, while the variety of animals he mentions adds a unique touch. When the author puts all of this together, he makes you feel as though you’re right there by his side, taking in every moment. Sunrise Over South Africa demonstrates that with just a few words, one can evoke breathtaking scenes while inviting the reader to become part of them.

Sunrise Over South Africa by Joseph Kuhn Carey is a poetry collection that traces a family’s journey across South Africa, blending travel writing with personal reflection. The poems move through cities, landscapes, and encounters, beginning with the anticipation of travel and unfolding into vivid snapshots of daily life. Early poems capture airports, long flights, and first impressions, while later poems explore the markets, wildlife, and cultural exchanges. The collection frequently returns to shared family moments, such as meals, conversations, and small discoveries that define the trip. Encounters with historical and social realities also appear, including references to apartheid and the legacy of Nelson Mandela, grounding the poems in a broader context. Each poem stands on its own while contributing to a larger movement across the country. The collection brings together themes of family, memory, and place, offering a portrait of travel that is both outward-looking and inwardly reflective.

Joseph Kuhn Carey uses a straightforward, image-driven style that emphasizes clarity. The poems are generally short, often built from simple lines that highlight a single moment or observation. This structure creates a steady rhythm, allowing readers to move quickly from one scene to the next while still pausing to take in individual details. The author makes frequent use of similes and metaphors, often comparing unfamiliar sights to recognizable objects, which helps translate the experience for the reader. Repetition of certain motifs, such as family interactions and natural imagery, provides cohesion across the collection. The inclusion of quotations, particularly from Nelson Mandela, connects personal experience to larger ideas. Readers who enjoy travel poetry, descriptive imagery, and collections built from brief, focused pieces will enjoy Sunrise Over South Africa. Readers of literary journals such as Granta, Ploughshares, and Subnivean will savor Carey’s work.

Sunrise Over South Africa: Poems by Joseph Kuhn Carey consists of 78 poems that memorialize the author’s tour from Johannesburg to Cape Town, along with his wife and two young sons. The poems are from half a page to a page-and-a-half long, free verse, comprising daily details punctuated with startling descriptive metaphors involving all five senses. Besides the majestic scenery and animal life, he introduces us to the ordinary (but extraordinary) people they meet along the way, on trains, buses, in hotels, restaurants, along the streets, and roadways. The narrative shows us the family’s reactions and emotions both to the majestic beauty of the land and to the sense of what daily life is like for the citizenry of the places the travelers visit. The poems are easy to read and understand, with no ambiguities here.

One of my favorite parts of the work is his incorporation of quotations from the writings of Nelson Mandela, whom the author clearly and rightly idolizes. In the poem “Nelson Mandela’s Home,” he contrasts the hero’s fame with the simplicity of his humble beginnings. In “The Bright Light,” he refers to Mandela as “the true, the right, and the bright glowing light.” And in addition to the astounding scenery of the country, there are, of course, the animals observed in their natural habitats: giraffes, lions, hyenas, zebras, water buffalo, and even penguins that walk like Charlie Chaplin. Then, too, this excursion is shown as a family bonding adventure. Sunrise Over South Africa by Joseph Kuhn Carey will not only make you feel like you’ve been there, but will make you want to go there, and preferably accompanied by those you love.

With Sunrise Over South Africa, Joseph Kuhn Carey gifts poetry readers an enthralling collection of seventy-eight eloquent poems. Through his poetry, Carey recounts his travel experiences in South Africa. Did you know that there are eleven languages spoken in South Africa? Whether it's lining up in a queue at an international airport or wandering through an African craft market full of stalls of carved cones, wooden elephants, and handwoven baskets, this collection paints a colorful tapestry of the southernmost country in Africa. You will experience a jeep safari through the savannah and be mesmerized by the descriptions of giraffes, lions, hyenas, zebras, and many other wild animals. Or find yourself at a wedding where the Zulu people showcase their dance skills. A couple of poems also touch upon the beauty of the mountains.

Sunrise Over South Africa is a captivating collection of poems that capture the wild terrain and untamable natural beauty of South Africa alongside its rich cultural and historical heritage. Joseph Kuhn Carey has penned a collection that will generate interest among not only poetry aficionados but also travel enthusiasts. The author has a way with words, and it's on full display in this poetry book. In many poems, Carey shares personal anecdotes about his experiences in some of the remote corners of the country. For example, "Harrie's Pancakes" is a poem about rolled-up pancakes served at a small food stall. The book also features some South Africanisms that travelers are bound to find amusing. All in all, this book was a very enjoyable read for me. I highly recommend it to all poetry lovers out there.