Tanka for the memories

In our ninth episode we move away from European styles of poetry and examine a Japanese form – the tanka, a close relation to haiku. Rodney Williams, poet and editor of the journal Catchment – Poetry of Place returns as our guide to educate us about tanka and share some of his writing in that form.

Hobson’s Choice also returns with a focus on poetry we were taught at school. Ann Pilkington and Anneliese Rosenmayer share their memories of poems they first encountered as students and still remember to this day!

Poems discussed in this episode:

Meg Merrilies | The Poetry Foundation

Cargoes poem - John Masefield

Tanka by Rodney Williams

 

past the pier

a cormorant surfacing

well away

from where it dived –

your message safely home

A bird-loving man: haiku and tanka, by Rodney Williams (Ginninderra Press, Port Adelaide, Aust, 2013

 

fingerlings

break the lake’s surface

in eights and tens

with threats from beneath

bedsheets twisted at dawn

 Fred the Rescue Cat: 70 tanka, by Rodney Williams (Ginninderra Press, Port Adelaide, Aust, 2023)

shimmering

on the desert track

a mirage

her smile radiant

for the man behind me

A bird-loving man: haiku and tanka, by Rodney Williams (Ginninderra Press, Port Adelaide, Aust, 2013

on harvest

potato bags stand full

by red furrows. . .

in fields far to the west

long rows of white crosses

A bird-loving man: haiku and tanka, by Rodney Williams (Ginninderra Press, Port Adelaide, Aust, 2013

hothouse

butterflies –

she smiles

at a wink

of blue wings

Fred the Rescue Cat: 70 tanka, by Rodney Williams (Ginninderra Press, Port Adelaide, Aust, 2023)

Announcements: 

The Fortnightly Pier Poetry Group at Louis Joel Arts & Community, facilitated by Peter, is on at 11am on Fridays with the next meeting occurring on 27 June, 2025 . Come along if you love talking poetry.

Email ljacpoetry@gmail.com to register your interest. 

Louis Joel Arts and Community Centre will soon be offering their wonderful Winter 2025 program. There are so many great things on offer – for details go to Louis Joel Arts & Community

We would like to hear from you! 

As part of our 'Hobsons Choice' segment, we would like to hear from you. If you would like to be interviewed about a poem or if you just want to share your love of poetry, send us an email on ljacpoetry@gmail.com. Constructive criticism and praise are welcomed. Currently we have a focus on a favourite poem you were taught at school or during your childhood, but anything that strikes you is great.  Get in touch!

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Credits: 

Hosts: Peter Roberts & Colleen Murphy 

Original music composed by Andrew Gilpin and Sam Price. 

Editor: Colleen Murphy