Writers: A Challenge
Tanka Temptation
Writers, this is your fourth challenge of the year and for this one, we will dive into form and structure once again and write our way through the tanka:
The tanka is a thirty-one-syllable poem, traditionally written in a single unbroken line. A form of waka, Japanese song or verse, tanka translates as “short song,” and is better known in its five-line, 5/7/5/7/7 syllable count form. — Poets.org
The challenge: I am asking you to “tanka temptation” which is to write a five-line poem in 5–7–5–7–7 syllabic form following the tanka’s structure and form. What is tempting for you? How would you write your way through temptation? With this challenge, I want to see you tanka temptation in the most solid and demanding way possible.
An example:
I have cleared my path
alone is how I have been
but sometimes, she’s here
she carries our love with her
I deny my heart once more
Let’s make this happen, people!
•Request to be added as a writer by emailing me at acorneredgurl@gmail.com with “Please Add Me” as the subject line and please include the link to your Medium profile. Don’t want to be a writer in A Cornered Gurl? Simply comment with your response in this challenge post, or create your own post to your profile or in another publication, however, please use the tags, “Challenge” and “Tanka.”
Since this is a challenge call, all submissions received by 6:00 pm, US ET Sunday, August 02, 2020, will be published by 7:00 pm, US ET Monday, August 03, 2020. Any other submissions received during the week and by 6:00 pm on Thursday, August 06, 2020, will be published by 7:00 pm on Friday, August 07, 2020, US ET. CHALLENGE SUBMISSION BEGINS NOW. ❤
Show me how you’d “tanka temptation.” Let’s see what you’ve got! And as always, have fun, beautiful people!
*Finally, this is a read-for-all community. There will be no metered paywall or locked pieces in A Cornered Gurl. If you do not know how to unlock your submissions, please learn how to here. The Weekly Knob gives an excellent breakdown on deselecting the option to curate/distribute for paywall prior to submitting to a publication.
