Take Five

Tanka, the ancient Japanese poetic form, has been an important source for modernists for more than 100 years, but never relegated itself to the position of dusty relic. It is alive and vital and producing some of the most eloquent and insightful poetry published in English today. Many thousands of tanka poems are published every year--but which ones are the most rewarding for the readers? ... Famous names and unknown poets from around the world appear side by side in 321 single poems and several tanka sequences and tanka prose pieces.--Modern English Tanka Press.