Tanka Poetry

Tanka is a Japanese poetry form that’s older than haiku, in fact, haiku evolved from the first three lines of tanka. The tanka form is less restrictive in their subject matter than classical haikus; though they are often about love, any subject can work. Tankas basic format is:

  • Line one: 5 syllables or less
  • Line two: 7 syllables or less
  • Line three: 5 syllables or less
  • Line four: 7 syllables or less
  • Line five: 7 syllables or less

This week’s exercise involves writing some poetry — if you don’t usually write poetry, don’t be scared off by the word, this is an exercise that anyone can do :)

Chose a picture, any picture. Now sit down and write 3-5 tankas based on or inspired by that picture. Not only will this show the non-poets in our ranks that anyone can write poetry, it will make you familiar with a new form, and by using the same picture for each tanka, you’ll be forced to look at it in different ways.

Helpful tanka Links:

Places to publish your tankas:

I found those markets, and dozens more, with just a few minutes of looking, so don’t feel limited by them, by any means :)