I started out on twitter writing haiku. I thought I knew what that was... I didn't. Luckily, I found myself in a perfect environment for learning how to write it correctly. Many people write haiku there, both accomplished masters of the form and talented poets who, like me, were trying to learn. Lots of good examples and pertinent questions. After about 3 or 4 years, I began to have a pretty good grasp on what I was doing.
During that time, I read and saw a lot of tanka, but I didn't get it. I couldn't find the flow in the five lines, I couldn't understand what they were meant to do. Too long for a haiku, too short to tell much story, not fitting the rhythm I tried to give them when I read. I left them alone for a long time.
When I wanted to move on from pure haiku composition, I read a little and got the idea that it was meant to be a haiku plus. A haiku-style image plus a personal observation. Something like:
6 o'clock train
doors bang shut
down the line
I see your ticket is
only one way
Maybe that's not a bad way to describe tanka, and maybe following that formula can produce some decent, qualified tanka poems. But it's not the way tanka feels to me. Not when I find one or make one that I really think is special.
So, what is tanka? I'm still working on it. I tag most of my poems #5lines, because I'm not sure I really get what tanka is. Right now the big question for me is: Is tanka primarily a narrative or is it meant to evoke an experience? How much is showing vs. telling, and how do the parts fit together?
Obviously, I'm not an expert. I'm hoping to learn by doing, always reading and trying to pick up what I can. I have more thoughts to develop another day, but if any fellow poets have opinions to share, please leave a comment or let me know on twitter or facebook.
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