Tanka Online is pleased to announce our latest update, featuring Indian musician and poet, Kala Ramesh. An interview with Kala by Amelia Fielden, "A Song in the Air: an Indian Musician's Path to Haiku and Tanka," recounts how Kala started writing the Japanese forms and also how her music background and the Indian concept of rasa shapes her poetry. Rasa, according to Kala, " means the aesthetic emotion — a flavor, the distilled essence of the mood created in the listener’s mind . . . the residue left in our minds after we appreciate a piece of art."  Check out Kala's interview, her inspiring tanka, and also the latest verses of our regulars—Jeanne Emrich, Mariko Kitakubo, Michael McClintock, Maggie Chula, Amelia fielden, and Tom Clausen—at www.tankaonline.com.

Warmest wishes for a Happy New Year!

Jeanne Emrich
Tanka Online Webmaster