Ajarn David's
Thai Way Series
E xplore the spirit of Thailand in the Thai Way Series: Essays, Poetry & Wisdom — an illuminating collection by Ajarn David that celebrates the kindness, harmony, and quiet depth of Thai culture. Available internationally in hardcover, paperback, and Kindle.
The series is composed of 3 books: Why Thailand (Short Essays on Thai Culture, Language, and Life), Poems from Sakon Nakhon (Thai Poetry in English), and Life Lessons from Isaan, Thailand — the latter two books written and published in bilingual (English/Thai) editions.
The Author
A jarn David has been an English lecturer at Thai universities for over 20 years. He has co-authored two books on learning the Thai language and has written extensively on Thai culture.
Prior to arriving in Thailand, David attended graduate school in North Carolina, where his first two books of poetry were published. He then traveled Europe and became a lecturer at the University of West Bohemia in the Czech Republic. He currently is a faculty member of Sakon Nakhon Rajabhat University.
From Thai Poetry to Song
Ajarn David's Thailand Portrait
"Ajarn David's books established him as a bilingual writer working through Thai language, rural Isaan life, Buddhism, love, and loss. His Thai-English songs place those same concerns inside melody, chorus, and dialogue between male and female voices."
Mai Rak Mae Kha
Thai Songwriters as Storytellers
"Mai Rak Mae Kha" works on a small scale — a man, a woman, a noodle shop near a bus stop, a daily ritual — but it leans on the same device Thai and American songwriter storytellers use. Instead of telling us the man is lonely or secretly in love, it lets what he does tell us."
Mai Rak Lai Jai
Power Ballad on Heartbreak
"A songwriter like Ajarn David can land a complete emotional idea in just a few syllables. That's valuable in a ballad, because every extra word eats musical time — fewer syllables needed to say the thing means more time available to stretch and shape the ones you keep."
"Ajarn David’s essays and poetry offer a rare and insightful look at Thailand, blending personal experience with deep cultural reflection. His work is both accessible and thoughtful, making it a valuable contribution to the understanding of Isaan life, spirituality, and the Thai worldview."
Thai Poetry in English
