For Frank Tassone who loves Tanka.

This short presentation was done a few years ago for a now defunct online group, Oneshot Poetry.  This group contracted and expanded into another poetry group.

Lady Nyo

The morning wren sings

I stand in the moonlit dawn

Kimono wrapped close

Last night I made my peace

Now free from all attachments

Lady Nyo

–

To understand tanka one must go back into the Japanese literary history of the 8^th and 9^th century.  Poets of this time, male poets, the only ones who counted in court anthologies, were writing in a Chinese poetic technique.  They were still not able to use the language skillfully enough to present their own emotions.  This would take another century but by the 10^th century, women were using a new written language- kanji-something definitely Japanese, to write their poetry.  And they, for the next two centuries…