New Contest Idea - Two-Voice Tanka, Thrice

Poems in two voices, can be very interesting and this competition provides an easy way of writing such poems. It uses the Tanka form, with five lines with 5-7-5-7-7 syllables, respectively. Each tanka is divided into two segments. The first three lines are the upper phrase, and the last two lines are the lower phrase. The upper phrase typically contains an image, and the lower phrase expresses the poet's ideas about that image. The idea here is that the last two lines are to be in a different voice (a counterpoint), expressing a very different perspective, as in a conversation. To emphasize the different voices the last two lines should be in italics. This is similar to a Rengay form which involves a collaboration between 2 or 3 people, but here it is one poet using two voices. The competition requires a new poem on any theme, consisting of a suite of Three Tanka on the same theme. Please date your entry, but no names please.

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