The Tanka Prose Anthology Edited with an Introduction by Jeffrey Woodward Also available from major booksellers.
Price: $12.95 USD.
Selected for the "Best Books for Winter Reading, 2008" by The Montserrat Review.
"The scholar Woodward carefully and completely discusses the history of tanka combined with prose in Japan and now
in the English language. Then, using examples of the works of the nineteen contributors to the anthology, Woodward
points out the various styles and methods current writers are employing in their use of this form in compact
discussions of their work. For this we are very grateful to Jeffrey for separating out and defining this arm of
Japanese-inspired writing. His scholarship is impeccable." Contributors to the anthology: Hortensia Anderson, Marjorie Buettner, Sanford Goldstein, Larry Kimmel, Gary LeBel, Bob Lucky, Terra Martin, Giselle Maya, Linda Papanicolaou, Stanley Pelter, Patricia Prime, Jane Reichhold, Werner Reichhold, Miriam Sagan, Katherine Samuelowicz, Karma Tenzing Wangchuk, Linda Jeannette Ward, Michael Dylan Welch, Jeffrey Woodward. The Tanka Prose Anthology is vital evidence of the first flowering in English of an ancient Japanese genre—tanka prose, the wedding of prose and tanka in one unified composition. The great diversity in subject and style of the individual writings in this volume testifies to the versatility of this new medium in the hands of skilled practitioners. Whether the setting is urban or pastoral, an elegant interior or a rustic retreat, whether the time is contemporary and presently unfolding or archaic and retrospective, the revival of the ancient medium of tanka prose has proven equal to the immediate task. This first-of-its-kind collection draws upon the work of nineteen poets from eight different countries. The introduction offers a detailed survey of the genre’s history and of its evolving forms while an annotated bibliography directs the reader to related literature. Why is tanka prose so novel? Because it is so old. The present anthology announces that it is here to stay. —Jeffrey Woodward
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