YTHS 2012 Tanka Writing and Revision Workshop
YTHS provided its second tanka workshop, the Tanka Revision Workshop, on November 3, 2012. It was led by Joan Zimmerman and Patricia J. Machmiller.
The tanka is a short lyric poem, a jewel expressing personal feelings. Tanka is the modern name for waka, which with its 5-7-5-7-7 pattern of sound units has thrived in Japan since the eighth century. In English the tanka form is most often presented in five lines with a line-length pattern short, long, short, long, long.
The workshop used multiple assigned practices, and through presentations and discussions, showed poets how to assess and revise tanka for emotional content, form, organization, vocabulary, sound, and grammar. Participants at all skill levels, from newcomers to proficient tanka poets, attended and afterwards showed much appreciation for the experience.
Each participant received a Tanka Revision Workbook. (It did not duplicate References, Timeline, Glossary, or Papers from the Tanka 101 Workbook used at the first tanka workshop.)
Anyone interested in purchasing this the Tanka Revision Workbook, or the Tanka 101 Workbook (each $30, which includes $5 for postage and handling) please contact Patricia Machmiller at patriciajmachmiller@msn.com.
