Tanka Splendor 1994

Tanka Splendor 1994, judged by Geraldine C. Little. AHA Books, 1995, 48 pages, paperback, 5½ by 8½ inches. $6.00 postpaid from AHA Books, P.O. Box 767, Gualala, California 95445 [address no longer correct]. This new book shares the top 31 winners from the 1994 Mirrors International Tanka Awards, chosen from 788 entries by Geraldine C. Little, who also writes an introduction. Jane Reichhold, series editor, offers her assessment of the development of English-language tanka in an afterword. Two samples, from Joanne Morcom and then Ronan:

feeling cranky

the palm reader

tells him

she’s never seen a life line

as short as his

the old couple slowly

down the long corridor

no breath for talking

      moving their walkers

      in slow syncopation