Both winning tankas in the WM competition have a seaside theme, says Alison Chisholm
For anyone who enjoys writing in syllabic forms, the tanka is a delight. Longer than the haiku, with 31 syllables rather than seventeen, it is slightly more relaxed than the shorter form. This allows for a gentle easing of the wording. It gives more scope for narrative, and as the traditional restrictions of the time and nature references are not pressing, offers poets the opportunity to explore wider ranges of subject matter.