Japanese Tanka
September 5th, 2010 - Traditionally tanka in general has had no concept of rhyme (indeed, certain arrangements of rhymes, even accidental, were considered dire faults in a poem), or even of line. Instead of lines, tanka has the unit (連) and the phrase (句). (Units or phrases are often turned into lines when poetry is translated or transliterated into Western languages, however.) The modern revival of tanka began with several poets who began to publish literary magazines, gathering their friends and disciples as contributors. Today there are many circles of tanka poets. Many newspapers have a weekly tanka column, and there are many professional and amateur tanka poets.
Read More