TANKA

Tanka are 31-syllable poems that have been the most popular form of poetry in Japan for at least 1300 years. During Japan's Heian period (794-1185 A.D.) it was considered essential for a woman or man of culture to be able to both compose beautiful poetry and to choose the most aesthetically pleasing and appropriate paper, ink, and symbolic attachment---such as a branch, a flower---to go with it.

In Japanese, tanka is often written in one straight line, but in English and other languages, we usually divide the lines into the five syllabic units: 5-7-5-7-7.

The tanka focuses on one idea and uses words to capture a personal emotion or a feeling about the topic.

Let's read a few tanka poems and see if we can figure out the pattern. Count the syllables in each line. What is the emotional feeling that this poem conveys? Were the poems effective?

 

Moon madness makes me

Dance in delight under stars

I lift up my hands

And feel my arms grow longer

As they wrap around the moon

by Margaret Cheaseboro

A lone saxophone

Cries out on the street corner

Sweet, sweet intrusion!

Grim faced commuters rush past -

No time for amazing grace.

by David Kirkland

Years on my own

I still stare after

A white-haired couple

The way his body

Shields her from the wind

by Thelma Mariano

I hope that you're inspired because now it's time for you to create an original tanka poem.  

  1. Pick a topic that you have strong feelings about. That will be your theme.
  2. Decide: 1) For what purpose will you write? 2) What mood do you want to convey?
  3. Think of the images, descriptive words, and figurative language that best describe your idea (remember sounds, smells, sights). Jot them down in web form or in a list as you think of them.
  4. Now work on writing your poem. Draft, revise, and edit.
  5. Now, for the real test, read it ALOUD. Does it really paint a clear picture?
  6. Share your poem with someone else. Listen to his or her critique of your poem. A critique is when someone tells you the strengths and weaknesses of your work. DON'T GET MAD, LISTEN to the suggestions. Revise your work. Remember, the BEST writers are REWRITERS!
  7. Give your poem a title.
  8. Type and choose a font that adds to the look of your poem.
  9. Illustrate your poem.

If you have a tanka poem that you like, you may enter it in a contest.

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