Join us every week for #TankaTuesday, a welcoming space where poets come together to explore the beauty of syllabic poetry. Whether you’re new to structured verse or a seasoned poet, this challenge invites you to craft thoughtful, expressive poems that capture moments, emotions, and the rhythm of life. Engage with fellow poets, refine your creativity, and let the art of words flow freely. Embrace the challenge and share your voice—your poetry belongs here!
Hi! Welcome back to #TankaTuesday. Let’s write syllabic poetry together! Hello everyone! I’m back again this week. Summer is always a busy time and many of our hosts are on vacation or spending…
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Hi! Welcome back to #TankaTuesday. Let’s write syllabic poetry together! Hi everyone! It’s me again! Before we get started, Robbie and I are excited to share that Sunflower Tanka will open for submissions…
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Hi everyone it’s me, Willow here. I was thinking as we are heading out of June and into July we could sit down and take a moment. As I get older, I realise…
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Discover a curated selection of innovative and classic tanka poetry from poets around the world, emphasizing form and creative expression.
Our annual anthology celebrates the rich tradition of syllabic poetry, with a special focus on tanka. This concise five-line form offers a perfect balance of simplicity and depth, inviting poets to capture moments, emotions, and scenes with precision and clarity.
Whether you are a seasoned poet or new to the form, our collection provides inspiration and insight into the art of tanka composition.
Sunflower Tanka, edited by Robbie Cheadle & Colleen M. Chesebro, is an annual anthology. Join us in exploring this timeless poetic form through our latest anthology, which showcases a variety of styles, from traditional to experimental approaches.
Sunflower Tanka: A 2025 Anthology of Tanka, Tanka Prose, & Experimental Tanka
For 2025, our theme “Dreams” invites poets to explore the symbolic language of dreaming, where metaphors blur the line between reality and imagination. Dreams often serve as gateways to layered meaning, offering fertile ground for syllabic poetry.
Our annual anthology celebrates the rich tradition of syllabic poetry, with a special focus on tanka & experimental tanka forms.
Available in Kindle & Print
Word Craft: Prose & Poetry
Consider this book the first step on your journey to learning the basics of how to craft syllabic poetry. Inside, you will discover many new forms, syllable combinations, and interpretations of the different Japanese and American forms and structures of haiku, senryu, haiga, tanka, renga/solo renga, gogyohka, haibun, tanka prose, the cinquain, and its variations. Etheree, nonet, and shadorma poetry.
Available in Kindle & Print
2024 Sunflower Tanka
Our theme, “Into the Light,” draws inspiration from the way a young sunflower bud constantly turns to face the sun. Poets delved into the realms of death, love, and the natural world, capturing their human experiences in the timeless form of syllabic poetry. Our annual anthology celebrates the rich tradition of syllabic poetry, with a special focus on tanka & experimental tanka forms.
Available in Kindle & Print
Discover the 72 Micro Seasons, the rituals, and practices that keep creativity alive day after day.
Instructions on how to create the different syllabic poetry forms.
Build resilience, community, and learn the forms to create syllabic poetry.
My name is Colleen Chesebro. In 2016, I created Tanka Tuesday as a platform for poets to learn the fundamentals of Japanese and American syllabic poetry. Each Tuesday, a syllabic poetry challenge posts for poets to join in and write together.
Our Team
Melissa, Willow, Yvette, and Robbie joined the team to help create syllabic poetry challenges that stimulate your poetic creativity.
Word Craft Prose & Poetry
Word Weaving/The Moons of Autumn
2026 Sunflower Tanka Anthology
Coming Next Year
Tanka Tuesday 