Poems come in many forms. Two of the most familiar to English language readers are probably the Shakespearean sonnet, which requires a certain rhythm and rhyme scheme, and the open form “free verse,” which has no set rhythm or rhyme and is most popular with poets writing today.
As we observe National Poetry Month in Murfreesboro this April, local residents will have the opportunity to become more familiar with a form called the tanka. A Japanese form similar to haiku, a tanka is a short five-line poem which doesn’t have many rules—the most important are that you don’t use conventional capitalization or punctuation, or specify a title. One reason I love this form is that it can be simple to read and write for people of all ages and experience levels—yet, like the best poems of any form, it can also contain nuanced ideas and images.
In conjunction with the Discovery Center’s We Are Tennessee exhibit, which opens, people of all ages will have the chance to read and write tanka at a variety of locations throughout the month. Other NPM events here in town will celebrate local voices and favorite poems. As Poet Laureate, and one of the three inaugural Arts Laureates selected by Cultural Arts Murfreesboro last summer, I’m thrilled to report that there’s a poetry event in town every weekend this month. All of the following events are free and open to the public.
Saturday, April 7, I’ll be at the Murfreesboro Barnes & Noble from 1–3 p.m., helping anyone who’s interested write their own “Tennessee tanka” using their experiences and images of life in Tennessee. Participants will be encouraged to post their tanka in the B&N cafe for others to enjoy all month. I’ll also be sharing some of my favorite poetry by local published poets.
Friday, April 13 at the Boro Art Crawl, members of the Poetry in the Boro community will offer short poetry readings and spoken word on the half hour at 6:30, 7, 7:30, 8 and 8:30 p.m. at Let’s Make Wine. Throughout the evening at this location, volunteers will also help participants write their own tanka.
Sunday, April 22, an open mic called People, Pastries and Poetry will be held at Linebaugh Library from 2–4 p.m. Writers can share their work and also bring books to sell.
Saturday, April 28, the Discovery Center will open the We Are Tennessee exhibit, an exploration of our state’s cultural diversity through art and writing by Tennesseans of all ages. Murfreesboro’s painter and photographer laureates and myself will be leading special activities for kids on this free day at the museum, sponsored in part by a grant from the Tennessee Arts Commission.
For more information about these activities, check the sponsoring organization’s website. Poetry in the Boro on Facebook will also be sharing complete details as they become available. Come out to one or all of these events to both appreciate our community voices and to add your own to our city’s increasingly creative vibe.
Here are a couple of tanka written by local poets.
lifting flat creek rocks
searching out crawdads and newts
best friend explorers
barefoot summer memories
before the schooldays return
— Monica Ashbaugh
___
Murfreesboro
adopted hometown
lured me back to
bluegrass from Motown
Heart of Tennessee
— Cindy Phiffer
