#Tanka Tuesday #Poetry Stars | Theme challenge-Discovery

Posted byColleen M. ChesebroPosted inPrior Years Poetry StarsTags:, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Welcome to our weekly poetry stars celebration. This week’s challenge was to choose synonyms for the words, “loose and tight,” using one of these forms: haiku, senryu, haiga, tanka, gogyohka, haibun, tanka prose, renga, solo renga, chōka, cinquain, and its variations, Etheree, nonet, shadorma, Badger hexastich, Abhanga, diatelle, & the Kerf poetry. The optional form instructions are here.

In Japanese syllabic poetry, there is no capitalization on the first word in each line of your poem. Most of the American forms do not use capitalization either. Why? Syllabic poetry is written in breathy phrases, not sentences.

I’m thinking of starting a poetry reading session. Let me know what you think. Read the post HERE.

Many thanks to everyone who joined in below:

1.Susan Joy Clark8.Ken Gierke / rivrvlogr15.Sally Cronin
2.Trent9.Donna Matthews16.Kerfe Roig
3.Reena Saxena10.Jules17.kittysverses
4.willowdot2111.Cheryl18.Annette Rochelle Aben
5.theindieshe12.Ruth Klein/ Ruth Scribbles19.Colleen Chesebro
6.Laura McHarrie13.anita dawes 20. Mystical Strings
7.Elizabeth14.Anisha 21. Jude 

I loved all the poetry this week. It’s always fun to see what inspires us the most. I would say, Jules’ choice of the theme of discovery fits the bill for most of us!

This week, I’ve selected Donna Matthews to choose a theme for us to work with next month. I liked how she combined the theme of discovery along with the Hemingway quote in her post. I also liked the philosophical tone of her words. The idea of discovery is there, but you realize the truth all on your own. 

Time Traveler

what day of your life are you living
time traveler or present day
what I have found to be true
you will be forgotten
stay here beloved
your days fleeting
soon, this now
today
past

© 2021 Donna Matthews

This week, I’ve asked Donna Matthews to choose the prompt for next month’s challenge. Please email your words to me at least a week before the challenge to tankatuesdaypoetry@gmail.com. Thanks.

Don’t forget to connect with the Word Craft Journal of Syllabic Verse at wordweavingpoetryjournal.com to learn the theme of this first journal. Submissions are open until July 15, 2021. Follow Word Weaving on Twitter @word_weaving.

See you tomorrow for the new challenge!

Published by Colleen M. Chesebro

An avid reader, Colleen M. Chesebro rekindled her love of writing poetry after years spent working in the accounting industry. These days, she loves crafting syllabic poetry, flash fiction, and creative fiction and nonfiction. In addition to poetry books, Chesebro’s publishing career includes participation in various anthologies featuring short stories, flash fiction, and poetry. She’s an avid supporter of her writing community on Word Craft Poetry.com by organizing and sponsoring a weekly syllabic poetry challenge, called #TankaTuesday, where participants experiment with traditional and current forms of Japanese and American syllabic poetry. Chesebro is an assistant editor of The Congress of the Rough Writers Flash Fiction Anthology & Gitty Up Press, a micro-press founded by Charli Mills and Carrot Ranch. In January 2022, Colleen founded Unicorn Cats Publishing Services to assist poets and authors in creating eBooks and print books for publication. In addition, she creates affordable book covers for Kindle and print books. Chesebro lives in the house of her dreams in mid-Michigan surrounded by the Great Lakes with her husband and two (unicorn) cats, Chloe & Sophie.

12 thoughts on “#Tanka Tuesday #Poetry Stars | Theme challenge-Discovery”

  1. Hi Colleen. I’m going to read all these today.
    I have a question and maybe grievance..

    I was wondering how, why who wrote the rule that Japanese forms should not be capitalized at the beginning? As a reader, I pause or take a breath with every capitalization in poetry, and with many pivots, a capital in the next line allows room for a thought. I have a very hard time reconciling that rule with the natural flow, depth, and wonder that I’ve always got from Japanese forms. It takes away alot in my opinion and reason of breathy phrases perplexes me. The caps at the beginning can often be the difference between the kind of message or thoughts a writer wants to incite.

    Please help me understand this rule. I’m going to read some further articles on it as well.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. I believe it has to do with the Japanese language. I can find nowhere (except in prose poetry) that capitalization is used in Japanese poetry. Also, syllabic poetry is written in phrases not sentences. Even the names of the Japanese forms are not capitalized, except at the beginning of a sentence. Prose poetry is different and yes, you do use capitalization in those forms. Don’t confuse prose poetry with Japanese poetry. It’s apples to oranges. I did not create the rule about capitalization in Japanese poetry. It’s always been there since the forms were created centuries ago. Check out some of the reputable journals like Hedgerow, in the U.K. There is no capitalization. Visit the dVerse blog and notice how they write their prose poetry vs their Japanese poetry. Definitely do your research. That’s how we learn. I used the definitive guide, “The Haiku Handbook,” by William J. Higginson & Penny Harter for my own research. The book teaches how to write, teach, and appreciate haiku. It’s available on Amazon. There are many sites that will help you online. ❤️

      Liked by 2 people

        1. Thanks, Jude. I’ll create a page of references (other than my own) to help others learn about these different forms. All questions are good. It always helps to learn this stuff together. ❤

          Liked by 1 person

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