Welcome to our weekly poetry stars celebration. This weekâs challenge was to write your poetry based off of the photo that Anita Dawes provided using one of these forms: haiku, senryu, haiga, tanka, gogyohka, haibun, tanka prose, renga, solo renga, cinquain, and its variations, Etheree, nonet, shadorma, Badger hexastich, and Abhanga poetry.Sorry… I had to edit this post. I was in a hurry and used the wrong format. ⤠I need an administrative assistant! LOL! đ
Remember⌠the first of the month you can write any syllabic poetry form of your choice. The rest of the time, we write our syllabic poetry in one of the forms listed, and we follow a schedule (posted below). I do this for a couple of reasons. It requires those of you who would like to enter contests or to submit your poetry to literary journals to learn how to follow their rules. This challenge gives you that practice. Besides, why enter a challenge if you donât follow the rules? Thatâs the challenge part. â¤
Wow!! Didn’t you think we had some amazing poetry this week? I was totally blown away by Jude’s poem HERE. Check that out. He has discovered some creative ways to combine his love of writing with the syllabic forms. The epistolary format is a great way to showcase your poetry.
Please visit the rest of the poetry… it’s exceptional this week.
I chose to highlight Trent McDonald’s double-nonet this week. He rarely writes this form, but I enjoyed his thoughts prompted by the image. This piece has a great rhythm and flow. The questions at the end are there to make you evaluate your own values toward climate change. Bravo Trent!
This week, Iâve asked Trent McDonald to choose the prompt for next monthâs challenge. Please email your words to me at least a week before the challenge to tankatuesdaypoetry@gmail.com. Thanks.
Don’t forget to check out the Tanka Tuesday Book Store. Have you recently published a book with poetry in it? Let me know. I’ll add a link to your Amazon Author Page.
Welcome to our weekly poetry stars celebration. This weekâs challenge was to choose synonyms for the words, âsearch & lost,â using one of these forms: haiku, senryu, haiga, tanka, gogyohka, haibun, tanka prose, renga, solo-renga, cinquain, and its variations, Etheree, nonet, shadorma, Badger hexastich (hexastich for short), and Abhanga.
Remember⌠the first of the month you can write any syllabic poetry form of your choice. The rest of the time, we write our syllabic poetry in one of the forms listed, and we follow a schedule (posted below). I do this for a couple of reasons. It requires those of you who would like to enter contests or to submit your poetry to literary journals to learn how to follow the rules. This challenge gives you that practice. Besides, why enter a challenge if you donât follow the rules? Thatâs the challenging part. â¤
I could not believe all the great poetry this week! It’s been hard keeping up with NaPoWritMo, writing poems, and preparing for the big surprise at the end of the month! One thing is certain… you are all great poets and deserve stars!
Creativity is the name of the game in poetry. Who said you can’t combine some of the American forms with some prose thrown in to make longer poetry? Check out Jude’s poem, “The One thing we must never lose.” He combines shadorma and Abhanga poetry with a bit of prose to make a satisfying longer poem with a great message.
I loved all the creative Etheree poems this week, too. Check out Sally Cronin’s double reversed nonet: “Ageism.” Today (April 18th) is my birthday, so that poem really had me laughing! Thank you, Sally!
It was Ritu’s Etheree, “Search & Lost,” that grabbed my heart this week!
Set
Adrift
In my thoughts
Hunting wildly
Looking for the truth
The answers to my 'Whys'
Questions keep bombarding me
Will I find what I'm looking for?
Possibly not, but really, I know
The solution to all my woes... is me
ŠRitu 2021
So, this week, Iâve asked Ritu to choose the prompt for next monthâs challenge. Please email your words to me at least a week before the challenge to tankatuesdaypoetry@gmail.com. Thanks.
Welcome to our weekly poetry stars celebration. This weekâs challenge was to write about “immortality” using one of these forms: Haiku, Senryu, Haiga, Tanka, Gogyohka, Haibun, Tanka Prose, Renga, Solo-Renga, Cinquain, and its variations, Etheree, Nonet, Shadorma, Badger Hexastich (hexastich for short), and Abhanga.The Diatelle form is also an option.
Remember⌠the first of the month you can write any syllabic poetry form of your choice. The rest of the time, we write our syllabic poetry in one of the forms listed, and we follow a schedule (posted below). I do this for a couple of reasons. It requires those of you who would like to enter contests or to submit your poetry to literary journals to learn how to follow their rules. This challenge gives you that practice. Besides, why enter a challenge if you donât follow the rules? Thatâs the challenge part. â¤
ALSO: Make sure you are grabbing the URL of your âpublishedâ post when you link back to the challenge and in Mr. Linky. If you need extra help with these features, let me know and I will help you. â¤
There was some truly amazing poetry this week. Immortality can mean something different to everyone. Here are a few poems that expressed different interpretations of what immortality means to them:
I chose Kat Myrman’s Abhanga quatrain (series of four, four-line stanzas) to feature this week. The Abhanga has that lovely rhythm 6/6/6/4 syllables, L2 and L3 rhyme: x a a x, x being unrhymed. I’ve shared her poem below. Notice how the four quatrains written together form a longer poem? Just because the form is four lines long, doesn’t mean you can’t write more than one stanza. Japanese poetry is different, however. Always follow the instructions carefully on those forms.
This week, Iâve asked Kat Myrman to choose the theme prompt for next monthâs challenge. Please email your words to me at least a week before the challenge to tankatuesdaypoetry@gmail.com. Thanks.
"mere mortals"it shouldnât surprise us
how nonchalantly death
steals away our breath
in just a blink
without considering
that we have things to do
life to live, weâre not through
no death donât care
the cruel fact of it is
when itâs your time to go
you can bet death will show
ready or not
immortalityâs not
for mere mortals like us
just accept it, donât fuss
enjoy the ride
Š2021kat
Fly free… don’t forget tomorrow we’ll write more poetry! See you then…
Welcome to our weekly poetry stars celebration. This weekâs challenge was to choose synonyms for the words, âloose and tight,â using one of these forms: Haiku, Senryu, Haiga, Tanka, Gogyohka, Haibun, Tanka Prose, Renga, Solo-Renga, Cinquain, and its variations, Etheree, Nonet, Shadorma, Badger Hexastich (hexastich for short), and Abhanga.
Remember⌠the first of the month you can write any syllabic poetry form of your choice. The rest of the time, we write our syllabic poetry in one of the forms listed, and we follow a schedule (posted below). I do this for a couple of reasons. It requires those of you who would like to enter contests or to submit your poetry to literary journals to learn how to follow their rules. This challenge gives you that practice. Besides, why enter a challenge if you donât follow the rules? Thatâs the challenge part. â¤
ALSO: Make sure you are grabbing the URL of your âpublishedâ post when you link back to the challenge and in Mr. Linky. If you need extra help with these features, let me know and I will help you. â¤
Many thanks to everyone who joined in belowand to Mr. Linky’s Magical Widgets:
This week, I asked you all to use the psychology of color in your poetry. Using color provokes strong imagery, engaging your brain to react to the symbolism. We write poetry to connect with the world around us. The addition of color helps us choose words to convey a deeper meaning.
Think about the color blue. This hue can be warm and comforting, while it can also signify coldness. Don’t forget about the act of feeling “blue.” Just that one word (one syllable) helps to convey a range of emotions.
There were some exquisite poems this week, so please visit the other poets to read their poems. The Badger Hexastich seems to be a popular form. Please read Sally Cronin’s poems HERE to get an idea of how your words and syllables should flow smoothly with meaning when using this form.
Those short syllables can be choppy, as I illustrated in my poem. I did this to emphasize the lack of emotion the color gray can invoke. When you compose your poetry, think about your reader’s reactions to your words.
I also like Jude’s haibun senryu. In the haibun portion he writes each sentence separately, like a verse, instead of in a paragraph. He stays true to the Japanese form, but adds his own personalization to it.
Check out his word choice. Desdemona is a character from the Shakespeare play, Othello. Just the mention of her name invokes a kind of gray sadness as the beautiful and innocent wife of Othello who meets a tragic end. This is excellent imagery.
I chose D.L. Finn’s tanka poem below to highlight this week. I enjoyed Denise’s creativity. The first three lines convey a specific theme: the angel’s gift. The last two lines pivot, and she gives direction to her poetry by sharing her reaction to seeing the gift. The pivot was a surprise! The imagery is precise, yet doesn’t share too much by saying she “…saw the soul of the world.” What does that mean to you?
This week, Iâve asked D.L. Finn to choose the photo for next monthâs #Photo Prompt challenge. Please email your words to me at least a week before the challenge to tankatuesdaypoetry@gmail.com. Thanks.
THE GIFT
The angelâs gift shone
Like a rainbow umbrella
In a vile gray world.
Curious, I approached her
And saw the soul of the world.
Š2021 D.L. Finn
Origami, another Japanese art form!
See you tomorrow for another fun syllabic poetry challenge!
What a tremendous success our first poetry challenge of 2021 was! Bravo to those of you who tried a new form and taught us how to create it! Many thanks to everyone who joined in below:
Kerfe Roig’s poem, “Renderings,” using the Badger Hexastitch form caught my attention. This form is syllabic and written in six lines with a 2/4/6/6/4/2 structure. It is unrhymed with optional rising and falling end-words, which I think is an interesting twist.
I re-turn to the earthreflected as shadowâsilhouette echoingthe places Ihave beenŠ2021 Kerfe Roig
The optional rising and falling end-words often refer to the intonation or rhythm of speech. I also believe from the examples that the rising and falling end-words often end in “ing,” but not always. (See the second poem below). This is a made up form and sometimes that makes it difficult to understand what the creator intended.
Another explanation for the rising and falling end-words could be simply writing a definite beginning and end where everyone can interpret the meaning, like in the third poem below. Kerfe used a similar interpretation, beginning with “I re-” [return] and ending with “have been.”
Or, the rising and falling end-words could be opposites, like in the first poem below:
"Growing"
Fall down
consider tears--
crawl to where grandpa sits
grab onto grandpa's leg
grin like a fox--
stand up
Š Lawrencealot - February 16, 2014
First flight,small granddaughter
visits Grandma with Dad,
Mom, brother and sisters
in soccer play-offs
back home.--Judi Van Gorder
This is a fun form to experiment with. The syllable count has a pleasant rhythm. This year, Word Crafters, we will have a list of optional forms to choose from, including the twelve forms we’ve been using for the last few years. I’ll add the Badger Hexastitch to that list, which I will publish soon.
It’s election day and the first of the month! YOU know what that means! Word Crafters, choose your own syllabic poetry form, theme, words, images, etc. It’s up to you!
WAIT…
Are you looking for inspiration for your syllabic poetry? Find an image on Pixabay.com or experiment with “found poetry” to find some inspiration. Another option is to try some magnetic poetry. You still have to count syllables, but it’s like putting together a puzzle!
This challenge is a true poet’s choice! Use any syllabic poetry form that you’d like. As long as there are syllables to count, you’re good to go! Be creative. If your form is something new, teach us how to write it. Have fun!
Don’t forget to add the URL of your published poem in Mr. Linky below.
For this challenge, you can write your poem in the forms defined on the Poetry Challenge Cheatsheet below, and/or any other syllabic form you’d like to try.
Find out how many syllables each word has. I use this site to compose my poems. A simple yet very powerful syllable counter for poems and text which will count the total number of syllables and number of syllable per line for poems like haikus, limericks, and more.
THE RULES
Write a poem using a form of your choice: Haiku, Senryu, Haiga, Tanka, Gogyohka, Haibun, Tanka Prose, Cinquain, and its variations, Ehteree, Nonet, and Shadorma.
Post it on your blog.
Include a link back to the challenge in your post. (copy the https:// address of this post into your post).
Copy your link into the Mr. Linky below (underlined with a hyperlink).
Please click the small checkbox on Mr. Linky about data protection.
Read and comment on some of your fellow poetsâ work.
Like and leave a comment below if you choose to do so.
The screenshot below shows what Mr. Linky looks like inside. Add your name, and the URL of your post. Click the box about the privacy policy (It’s blue). As everyone adds their links to Mr. Linky, you can view the other submissions by clicking on the Mr. Linky link on the challenge post. All the links will show in the order of posting.
See the URL in the browser image below. This is what the URL of your post will look like after you published your own poem. Cut and paste that address into Mr. Linky below:
Follow the schedule listed below:
I will visit your blog, comment, and TWEET your POETRY.
If you add these hashtags to the post TITLE on your blog (depending on which poetry form you use) your poetry may be viewed more often on Twitter:
Kerfe Roig selected the theme for this week: MAPS. Who knew this one word would inspire such great poetry? You all deserve a huge round of applause for your poetic endeavors.
This week I selected Franci Hoffman from Eugi’s Causeria II to select the theme for September’s theme challenge! I can’t wait to see what she comes up with!
Congratulations, Franci, its your turn to pick the theme prompt for next monthâs challenge. Please Email me your choice at tankatuesdaypoetry@gmail.com before next monthâs challenge.
While I’m waiting to hear from my editors, I thought it was time to share the cover of my newest book creation, “Word Craft ~ Prose & Poetry. This book will discuss the basics of how to write the Japanese and American Syllabic poetry forms we use in my weekly Tanka Tuesday challenge.
I’ve collaborated with my friend, Wendy Anne Darling of Bookxeedo Book Covers, in the creation of this book cover. I love it! Some of these images have slipped into my blog, as well. How exciting! Can you tell I love the color orange?
I’ve done quite a bit of research on the eleven forms we use: haiku, senryu, haiga, tanka, gogyohka, haibun, tanka prose, cinquain, Etheree, nonet, and shadorma. There’s a bit of history, and explanations of how the forms are written. The Japanese forms are explained along with the differences between syllables and sounds in the Japanese language. I break it all down into simple terms.
At the end of each chapter, I’ve cited examples from the poets who participate in the challenge. Sometimes, we learn best from seeing what other poets write.
I’m thrilled to have content editing advice from our own American Haijin, Frank J. Tassone who kindly is reviewing my writing directions for the Japanese forms. I’m indebted to our lovely poetic community who support each other in all we do.
Look for this book in the coming months! I’ll share a few special offers when I get closer to publication.
Hi! Iâm glad to see you here. Are you ready to write some syllabic poetry?
Iâve updated the printable Poetry Form Cheat Sheet that I give away for signing up to my weekly blog recap newsletter. If you are a regular challenge participant and would like a copy email me using the new email below. Iâll send you a copy.
Currently, UHTS is accepting poetry for the Autumn Issue of the Cattails Journal. Submissions for Autumn/ October issue open 1st July (midnight) GMT and close 15th August (midnight) GMT. Read the submission requirements: HERE. You can view the journal HERE. READ the UHTS poetry definitions that are acceptable for submission HERE.
UHTS also is sponsoring the âFleeting Wordsâ Tanka Competition. Submission Period and Deadline: May 1-August 15 of each year. There is a 10 poem limit on the number of submissions. If more than 10 poems are submitted, only the first 10 poems will be entered. Entries must be the original work of the author, be previously unpublished and not under consideration elsewhere for the entire time period it takes to complete the judging. Click HERE for submission requirements and read carefully to find the current competition.
GET BUSY AND WRITE SOME POETRY!
Let’s PLAY with opposites! Here are your two words for this week:
Pretty & Ugly
HEREâS THE CATCH: You canât use the prompt words! SYNONYMS ONLY! Except for the first challenge of the month ~ then, the poets get to choose their own words. â¤
PLEASE support the other poets by visiting their blogs and leaving comments. Sharing each otherâs work on social media is always nice too.
This challenge is for Haiku, Senryu, Haiga, Tanka, Haibun, Etheree, Nonet, Shadorma, and Cinquain poetry forms. Freestyle rhyming poetry is not part of this challenge. Thank you. â¤
For Colleenâs Weekly Poetry Challenge, you can write your poem in one of the forms defined below. Click on the links to learn about each form:
Find out how many syllables each word has. I use this site to compose my poems. Click on the âWorkshopâ tab, then cut and paste your poetry into the box. Click the Count Syllables button on the button. This site does the hard work for you.
THE RULES
I will publish the Tuesday prompt post at 12: 03 A.M. Mountain Standard Time (Phoenix, AZ Time). That should give everyone time to see the prompt from around the world. The RECAP is published on Monday and will contain the challenge participant’s poems.
You have one week to complete the Challenge with a deadline of Sunday, at 12:00 P.M. (Noon) Phoenix, AZ time zone, U. S. A.
This will give me a chance to cut and paste the poems from the emails into the Recap published on Monday.
The rules are simple
If it’s the first poetry challenge of the month, poets choose their own words. (Synonyms are not necessary). Otherwise, for the rest of the month, I will give you two words.Choose synonyms from those words for your poetry. You, the poet, now have more control over the direction of your writing. Follow the rules carefully. Donât use the prompt words.
I CORRECTED THE TYPO FROM THE ORIGINAL EMAIL ADDRESS. IT SHOWS CORRECTLY BELOW:
Email your poem and the following information to tankatuesdaypoetry@gmail.com the âTitle of your poem,â #Form used, by âYour Name,â and the https:// address of your post where you published the post on your blog. Donât forget to include your poem. â¤
The WP Contact Form has proven to be unreliable so I’ve deleted it from the challenge. I can’t grab your poetry from your website because it comes over with all the formatting from your site which requires me to spend more time reformatting yourpoem. If you want your poem in the recap, please email me. Thanks. â¤
As time allows, I will visit your blog, comment, and TWEET your POETRY. I have also been sharing some of your poetry on MeWe.com.
It’s always good to go back to the basics and refresh our memories about the various syllabic poetry forms we use in our weekly Tanka Tuesday Poetry Challenge. Today, let’s review how to write a Haiku. Here are a few links for you to read. Enjoy! ~Colleen~
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Haiku is an ancient form of poetry invented in Japan. People focus on the syllable counts, but that’s just the basics. Here’s how to write a haiku poem.
