PRESS RELEASE FROM

SHANTI ARTS PUBLISHING

Naomi Beth Wakan brings us another ground-breaking book, The Way of Tanka. It gets to the heart of this developing form and includes not only the author’s insightful commentary, but also quotes from some of the most eminent scholars, publishers and writers of the form today. This comprehensive introduction to tanka includes an in-depth look at contemporary tanka through the author’s explication of tanka written by a number of poets, along with many other fine examples and commentary. This is Naomi Beth Wakan at her best, as teacher, motivator and therapist. At last, a comprehensive guide in one book, sure to inspire both beginners and seasoned poets.
Carole MacRury, In the Company of Crows: Haiku and Tanka Between the Tides. Board member: United Haiku and Tanka Society

Written in a lucid and readable style, Naomi Beth Wakan's The Way of Tanka is a highly practical guide that instructs readers on how to write tanka. She not only provides a good sampling of published tanka that represents a broad spectrum of stylistic and thematic varieties, but also includes her detailed comments on some of the tanka that are thematically or structurally significant. I particularly like the section on “Pivot Lines and Last Lines.” Her book gives readers a renewed appreciation of this minimalisitc yet highly expressive genre -- tanka, “the perfect vehicle for capturing the swift, direct pulse of emotion.”
Chen-ou Liu, Award-Winning Poet, Translator of NeverEnding Story

Naomi Beth Wakan, a very talented poet, and eager reader of poetry books and journals, is intelligent, and always curious, so it’s no wonder her new book, The Way of Tanka, is simply brilliant.
Kozue Uzawa, editor GUSTS: Contemporary Tanka

Naomi Beth Wakan casts her fiendishly curious and observant mind to the world of tanka. In her witty, conversational way, Naomi guides us through the many possibilities and permutations English-language poets have brought to the tanka tradition.
Ann Graham Walker (President of the Federation of British Columbia Writers, poet and journalist)
www.naomiwakan.com

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The Way of Tanka is an approachable yet comprehensive examination of the Japanese form of poetry known as tanka. The author, Naomi Beth Wakan, discusses its roots in early Japanese courts where it was considered the poetry of lovers, as well as its adaptation to western culture and the characteristics that separate it from the more popular form of Japanese poetry: haiku. Throughout, Wakan weaves her story of personal self-transformation as she moved from the more disciplined writing of haiku to the more metaphorical and philosophical writing of tanka. Numerous examples of tanka are provided, and the rich explanation of the experience of writing tanka encourages readers to write their own tanka while remaining open to the possibilities it provides for personal growth.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Naomi Beth Wakan is the inaugural Poet Laureate of Nanaimo (2013-16) and the inaugural Honorary Ambassador for the British Columbia Federation of Writers. She has published over fifty books. Her essays are in Late Bloomer: On Writing Later in Life; Composition, Notes on the Written Word; Book Ends: A Year Between the Covers; A Roller-Coaster Ride: Thoughts on Aging (all from Wolsak and Wynn Publishers); and On the Arts (Pacific-Rim Publishers). Her poetry books include Sex after 70 and Other Poems and And After 80 . . . (Bevalia Press) and Bent Arm for a Pillow (Pacific-Rim Publishers). Wakan is a member of The League of Canadian Poets, Haiku Canada, and Tanka Canada. She lives on Gabriola Island, British Columbia, Canada with her husband, the sculptor Elias Wakan.