The Good Old Days

What to Submit?

This is a CHALLENGE—there were no Premiere contests back then—with a difference as it is more laidback. Many have voiced the desire to return to The Good Old Days. Now here is your chance to do exactly that!

TANKA

objective → subjective

image → reflection

external observation → personal resonance

See the following link and scroll down to the description of the very first contest I sponsored here at PoetrySoup—the example poem is not the very best tanka I have written over the years, but it is what it is. There was no blog feature in those days; hence the information was front and centre on the page. The PIVOT is also the defining feature you will be judged by in the current challenge. 

Judged 9 November 2012:

TANKA - THE PIVOT Poetry Contest (poetrysoup.com)

ADDITIONAL for the current challenge:

1. Submit a tanka you wrote prior to November 2022 (10 years since my first contest sponsored and prior ChatGPT)—don’t “fix” it by running it through AI. Retain the original title.
2. If you have only joined this site after that date, please submit your own work—don’t use AI as I detest it, especially early ChatGPT—it is glaringly obvious.
3. In those days, many had the habit of adding the contest title, the sponsor’s name, the poet’s name and date written, as a footnote. I can pick up the date written from the entries received (courtesy of PS’s “new” features since 2023), but not the other details—we are supposed to judge blind. It is up to you how you want to play this in the spirit of The Good Old Days as I am not requiring you to make changes to your old poems in any way. It is what it is.
4. There will be multiple placements—preference will be given to the <11/2022 tanka poems.

PS My name does not appear on the 2012 page as I had a break for a few years and one’s name is deleted when we leave.

NB Tanka is NOT an extended haiku. I don't know where this legend originated. 

UPDATE [21/7/2026] – especially if you are writing a new tanka for this challenge if you don’t have an existing older example. NB Please ignore the Definition of tanka here at PoetrySoup as it is misleading. Tanka is not similar to haiku, which is objective in content. Tanka may be written in a far more compressed format than the prescribed 5-7-5-7-7 syllables.

A Cleaner Definition

A tanka is a five‑line Japanese verse form, older than haiku, built on two parts (upper and lower phrases) joined by a pivot. In English, tanka are written with flexible rhythm rather than strict syllable counts, often in lowercase with minimal punctuation. The form blends image and reflection, allowing the poem to be read in two directions, and is used to express a wide range of human experience—from nature to intimacy to memory.

MY EXAMPLE (dd 2024):

The Last Leaf | Poem (poetrysoup.com)