I was recently asked for a description of various forms of Japanese poetry. I think you should find all you need here. There are links in that one, which is about tanka and tanka prose, which will take you to haiku and haibun. One of the tanka links no longer works. If I remove it I them have to change the text, so am leaving it as I am short of time and am not a perfectionist.
The real way to write poetry of any type, as I have said before, is to pick up a pen and start writing. Eventually it will need typing but you’re a blogger, so you can already do that. Then email some off to editors.
If they are accepted, you are a genius. Well done, come back and tell me how you did it. Then tell everyone you learnt it all from me.
If your initial poems are rejected, join the club. Write some better ones and send them off. Each rejection hardens you up to cope with rejection, so failure is useful.
This year I have made 44 submissions and have had 18 acceptances, 17 rejections and have 9 answers pending. It’s not such a good rate as last year, but I’m writing to more places rather than just the ones that suit me. The point is to do something new rather than rack up an impressive ratio of accepted poetry.
Orange Parker Pen
I am, as i have said, looking at changing things round a bit. It may not see me improving or becoming more successful but it will get me out of a rut and make me use my brain differently.
Meanwhile, Sunday brought two emails, one accepting a haibun and one accepting a haiku. The ones that weren’t used (six haiku and two haibun) can go into the submissions for the coming month.
I need one lot of 10-15 and one lot of four for the 15th of the month. I now have enough. It’s a help and takes some of the pressure off.
Having said that, I just went to look at what I need to do. Even with this progress I still have quite a lot of work ahead of me. OK, I have three weeks to do it in, but I am at a funeral in Norwich later today and on Thursday I will be messing about delivering the car for repair.
My Orange Parker Pen. I just wrote a poem about it, as all my hints to parker have come to nothing. It was rejected. So I sent it to somebody else.
Congratulations on those two acceptances – more to come!
Hopefully many more. But even if they dwindle, I have fun writing.
You are definitely tempting me to try to write a poem, something that I last did in 1959 or 1960.
Look at all the lifetime of experience you have to draw on, I see the potential for great things in your future. 🙂
Thanks for the encouragement to try something new. All I need now is an orange Parker pen.
Try eBay. To be honest other types and colour of pen do work. 🙂
Excellent advice! And I do admire your persistence.
It is, to be fair, all I have left after exhausting my skill and enthusiasm. 🙂
I take my hat off to you. I tried to write a poem about 40 years ago, it was dreadful. Sorry for your loss, hope the funeral goes ok.
Thank you. It was an excellent funeral – the celebration of a 91-year-old aunt who led a full and happy life including being bombed by the Luftwaffe and working in a mental hospital. She was played out to “Bring me Sunshine.” I want to go out to “Ring of Fire” Inappropriate to the last. :-).
I like funerals like that. I mean when it’s a celebration of a life well lived. I think Ring of Fire would bring a few smiles 😂
One of my mates went through the curtains to Great Balls of Fire. He was in a wicker coffin with his fishing hat on top. Shame he wasn’t there to share the moment.
That shows a real sense of humour 😀
I was surprised his wife allowed it – she was normally quite serious.