[stylist] Information about Tanka and its writing

Thu Jun 9 13:43:22 UTC 2011

I always ask.. and what is a true tanka anymore?   I use 'modern' tanka 
quite a bit and I would say that's what this piece is...  Poetry, in my very 
humble opinion, will evolve as times and experiences  do.  So I would call 
this a tanka.. some purists likely would not but I  never claimed to be a 
purist...lol
I can remember way back in the day helping the deacon  count the offertory 
for youth mass... so this brought back some fun memories as  we all drew 
straws to see who would have to do the penny  count..)

In a message dated 6/9/2011 7:39:34 A.M. Central Daylight Time,  
Shawn.D.Jacobson at hud.gov writes:

I'm not  sure that this is a true tanka, but here goes.  This was inspired 
by my  deacon experiences of which on of the duties was to count the  
offertory.

Counter's tanka

In the sacristy
Count the bills,  tally the checks
Out numbers must match
Neat columns tell the  legend
Of order and true balance.

Shawn

-----Original  Message-----
From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org  [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On 
Behalf Of Donna Hill
Sent:  Wednesday, June 08, 2011 4:49 PM
To: 'Writer's Division Mailing  List'
Subject: Re: [stylist] Information about Tanka and its  writing

Myrna,
I would like to read examples of your Haibuns. I  meant to mention it in my
last post, but minds are on the fritz all over  the place *grin* And, please
post to the list; I'm sure I'm not the only  one interested.
Donna

-----Original Message-----
From:  stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of  KajunCutie926 at aol.com
Sent: Wednesday, June 08, 2011 4:09 PM
To:  stylist at nfbnet.org
Subject: Re: [stylist] Information about Tanka and its  writing

Donna,
To be honest I am not sure what 'kana' is... I'll  look  it up to find out 
as I had never heard of it before.. I don't  remember those  instructions 
including that before .. or has my mind  finally gone and lost  it...LOL  
The thing about haiku and tanka  is that they have  modernized... also you 
could be writing what is  called a senryu.. that's more  about emotions 
than 
nature.. I would  love to read some!  I have written  quite a few haibun
too..  
different animal but a lot of fun.. several have to do  with  blindness.. I 
can share them off list or on list if you'd   like.

In a message dated 6/8/2011 2:53:59 P.M. Central Daylight  Time,  
penatwork at epix.net writes:

Hi  Myrna,
You  remembered! Guess Grandma isn't as frazzled by youthful  exuberance  as
she thought! 

This is intriguing, but what, pray tell,  is  "kana?"

I'm going to post a couple haiku I just wrote, but my  guess  in reading 
this
is that they fall short of adhering to the  rules. I didn't  realize that
juxtaposition was necessary. For me,  they're a little slice of  life and
always about nature. I do, of  course, use the 5,7,5 syllables in  three 
lines
construction, and  I don't think I use metaphor or simile, but  I'll have to
re read with  that in mind.

I'm going to keep the Tanga  form in mind. I've  often thought I had 
something
else to say after the 17  syllables.  I wrote a song a couple of years ago 
in
which the verses and  bridge  were all Haiku. Guess that's another kettle of
fish   entirely.
Donna

-----Original Message-----
From:   stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf  Of  KajunCutie926 at aol.com
Sent: Wednesday, June 08, 2011 2:42  PM
To:  stylist at nfbnet.org
Subject: [stylist] Information about  Tanka and its  writing

As promised, Donna, here is the information  on Tanka   writing.  It is a 
very traditional form ....  however, it has  been  modernized and some
elements 
have been  changed or at least  made not so strict  once the English began  
writing them.  As  this article says it is because of  the  difference in 
syllabication  between the Japanese and English   languages.  This 
information
is  from  
ShadowPoetry.com.  It is a source  I've have used   extensively over the 
years.  I will share more Tanka and as   you  will see even I strayed from 
the

traditional syllable  count.  As I  side  note, my tanka collaborator and I 

developed a form which we  call the Haibun's  cousin, the  Tankabun. It
includes 
one tanka and  a prose edition.  If  you  are interested in it do let me  
know.

I can also  share an example of that  form too.  
For  those who are not  familiar with Haibuns they are  Haiku and prose  
combined in one  piece.  Here is the article on   Tanka...

Definition of  Tanka

An unrhymed Japanese  poem  consisting of five lines of  5/7/5/7/7 (5 kana 
in 
the first line, 7 kana  in  the second  line, 5 kana in the third line, 7 
kana in the fourth  line, and 7  kana  in the fifth line) totaling 31 kana. 

General  thoughts  on  Tanka

Tanka is generally written in two parts. The  first  three lines  is one 
part, and the last two lines is the second   part.

Tanka in English  is relatively new, so there are not  as  many guidelines 
as 
with haiku and senryu.  You may  include kigo  (season words), but it is 
not  
necessary.

One  exercise for  beginners is to write a  haiku and add two more lines.  

However,  tanka is not really  a longer haiku, and should not be thought  
of 
as  such. While  tanka does use many of the same elements such as    
juxtaposition, concrete imagery, and is usually centered around   nature,
tanka is  less 
constrictive.

You may use  metaphor,  simile, and many of the other  devices generally 
not  
used in haiku or  senryu. You may show a more personal and   emotional  
viewpoint.

If tanka were seen in a book that  contains only   Japanese poetic forms, 
they would be easily  recognizable. However, if the  same  poems were seen 
in
a  
freestyle poetry book, they may be  confused with any other   five line 
poem.

English tanka has not  totally found its  voice.  

Three ways to write tanka

There  are three  basic ways to  write tanka. 

1) Write 5 lines of  5/7/5/7/7.  Just replace one syllable  for one kana. 
Most English  speaking  writers do not do this, as there are too  many vast 

differences  between the Japanese and English language.

You  are   certainly free to do this, however, your tanka will be about   
one-third longer  than the Japanese tanka. There are some  Japanese  who 
think
this 
is the only real  way to write  tanka, but there are  others who feel that 
making English  writers  adhere to the form  serves no purpose.

2) Write 5  lines of 31 syllables or  LESS,  following the  
short/long/short/long/long form. This way, your tanka  will   achieve the 
same
basic effect as 
the Japanese   tanka.

3) Write 5 lines of  31 syllables or LESS, letting the  poem  dictate the 
line length. You are free to  experiment more  with this  last option.

Everyone who writes tanka must  make  their own  personal decision on which 
form they want to use. Some  experiment   with all three forms and find 
their 
own  paths.    
_______________________________________________
Writers Division  web  site:
http://www.nfb-writers-division.org   <http://www.nfb-writers-division.org/>

stylist mailing   list
stylist at nfbnet.org
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/stylist_nfbnet.org
To   unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info   for
stylist:
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/stylist_nfbnet.org/penatwork%40epix.ne
t

=======
Email   scanned by PC Tools - No viruses or spyware found.
(Email Guard:  7.0.0.21,  Virus/Spyware Database:   6.17690)
http://www.pctools.com/
=======

_______________________________________________
Writers   Division web site:
http://www.nfb-writers-division.org   <http://www.nfb-writers-division.org/>

stylist mailing   list
stylist at nfbnet.org
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/stylist_nfbnet.org
To   unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for   
stylist:
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/stylist_nfbnet.org/kajuncutie926%40aol
.com

_______________________________________________
Writers  Division web site:
http://www.nfb-writers-division.org  <http://www.nfb-writers-division.org/>

stylist mailing  list
stylist at nfbnet.org
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/stylist_nfbnet.org
To  unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info  for
stylist:
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/stylist_nfbnet.org/penatwork%40epix.ne
t

=======
Email  scanned by PC Tools - No viruses or spyware found.
(Email Guard: 7.0.0.21,  Virus/Spyware Database:  6.17690)
http://www.pctools.com/
=======

_______________________________________________
Writers  Division web site:
http://www.nfb-writers-division.org  <http://www.nfb-writers-division.org/>

stylist mailing  list
stylist at nfbnet.org
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/stylist_nfbnet.org
To  unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for  
stylist:
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/stylist_nfbnet.org/shawn.d.jacobson%40
hud.gov

_______________________________________________
Writers  Division web site:
http://www.nfb-writers-division.org  <http://www.nfb-writers-division.org/>

stylist mailing  list
stylist at nfbnet.org
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/stylist_nfbnet.org
To  unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for  
stylist:
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/stylist_nfbnet.org/kajuncutie926%40aol
.com