Sunflower Tanka, edited by Robbie Cheadle & Colleen M. Chesebro, is an annual anthology of contemporary tanka, tanka prose, & experimental tanka from a broad mix of new and established poetic voices from across the world.
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Blurb
Sunflower Tanka, edited by Robbie Cheadle & Colleen M. Chesebro, is an annual anthology of contemporary tanka, tanka prose, & experimental tanka from a broad mix of new and established poetic voices from across the world.
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.
Contributors to the first edition of the Sunflower Tanka: Suzanne Brace, Yvette Calleiro, Kay Castenada, Luanne Castle, Robbie Cheadle, Colleen M. Chesebro, E.A. Colquitt, Melissa Davilio, Destiny, Tamiko Dooley, Lisa Fox, Cindy Georgakas, Chris Hall, Franci Hoffman, Marsha Ingrao, Jude Itakali, JulesPaige, Kenneth, MJ Mallon, Brenda Marie, Selma Martin, Michelle Ayon Navajas, Lisa Nelson, D. Wallace Peach, Freya Pickard, Dawn Pisturino, Gwen M. Plano, Jennifer Russo, Aishwarya Saby, Reena Saxena, Merril D. Smith, Nicole Smith, Ivor Steven, Ben Tonkin, Trilce Marsh Vazquez, Cheryl Wood.
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In addition to their inspiration for the collection—“Into the Light”—contributing editors, Chesebro and Cheadle, introduce each form at the beginning of the book with examples chosen from among the submitted poetry. Each author has a short “chapter” of poems, and there’s a bibliography at the end should readers want to learn more about the authors and their work.
Usually, when I read a book of poetry, I earmark some favorite poems to highlight or share in a review. That was just about impossible to accomplish with this collection since the poetry is captivating from beginning to end. The interpretations and reflections on the theme covered a wide range of subjects, so there was no sense of repetitiveness. Each piece seemed entirely unique.
So, incapable of choosing just one or two to share, I decided to highlight one poem from each editor, to give a sense of the collection and the variety:
From Roberta Cheadle (South Africa)
Morning Hugs (tanka prose)
Bashful sun, awkward as a teenage boy, hesitantly touches wild grasses’ fluffy pink plumes. She giggles and flushes rosy pink as the golden light softly embraces her.
early morning light
cautiously approaches day
gently he wakes world
from heavy nighttime slumbers
with soft, golden hugs.
**
From Colleen Chesebro (United States)
tanka – untitled
silent guardian
owl—a speedy feathered wraith
caught in night’s embrace
moonlight dances across the lake
hunter takes to stars unseen
🌻 🌻 🌻
