Welcome to the Sunflower Tanka Anthology

Discover a curated selection of innovative and classic tanka poetry from poets around the world, emphasizing form and creative expression.

Our annual anthology celebrates the rich tradition of syllabic poetry, with a special focus on tanka. This concise five-line form offers a perfect balance of simplicity and depth, inviting poets to capture moments, emotions, and scenes with precision and clarity.

Whether you are a seasoned poet or new to the form, our collection provides inspiration and insight into the art of tanka composition.

Sunflower Tanka, edited by Robbie Cheadle & Colleen M. Chesebro, is an annual anthology. Join us in exploring this timeless poetic form through our latest anthology, which showcases a variety of styles, from traditional to experimental approaches.

Our focus on tanka for 2026 highlights its versatility — from classical compositions to avant-garde interpretations. Whether capturing fleeting moments or profound insights, tanka remains a compelling form for poets worldwide.

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Recent Anthologies

1st Edition: 2024

Our 2024 theme, “Into the Light,” draws inspiration from the way a young sunflower bud constantly turns to face the sun. Poets delved into the realms of death, love, and the natural world, capturing their human experiences in the timeless form of syllabic poetry. Our annual anthology celebrates the rich tradition of syllabic poetry, with a special focus on tanka & experimental tanka forms.

Available in Kindle & Print

2nd Edition: 2025

Our 2025 theme “Dreams” invites poets to explore the symbolic language of dreaming, where metaphors blur the line between reality and imagination. Dreams often serve as gateways to layered meaning, offering fertile ground for syllabic poetry. Our annual anthology celebrates the rich tradition of syllabic poetry, with a special focus on tanka & experimental tanka forms.

Available in Kindle & Print

3rd Edition: 2026

Coming in December 2026

What Our Readers Are Saying…

Rating: 5 out of 5.

This is another wonderful SUNFLOWER TANKA offering as special as last year’s with many of the same contributors—from all over the world—along with first timers of this particular anthology.
There are so many moving prose, I couldn’t begin to list them.

— Amazon Reviewer

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Tanka is a specific type of poem, with different types defined in the introduction. Poets from around the world participate in Colleen Chesebro’s Tanka Tuesday on the internet–to celebrate the art of syllabic poetry, so this collection of poems from dreams were written by poets from Australia and Indonesia to England and Ireland, Italy and Japan, Romania and South Africa, and the United States.

— Amazon Reviewer

Rating: 5 out of 5.

I am a fan of syllabic poetry and the tanka format. A favorite is tanka prose, but in reading this, I fell in love with the garland tanka and will be giving it a try. I enjoyed meeting each poet, some I knew, others were new to me. They were from all around the world and really added to the depth and perspective of this collection.

— Amazon Reviewer

Rating: 5 out of 5.

IThe anthology is both gentle and expansive, gracefully forthcoming and with a warm velvety feel to it, as if of a genuine togetherness, thus offering readers a contemplative stroll through the separate and shared mindscape of human dreams and imagination. I warmly recommend it to all lovers of poetry, of beauty and… of dreams!

— Amazon Reviewer

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Quote of the week

“Advice from a sunflower. Be bright, sunny, and positive. Know your roots. Spread seeds of happiness. Rise, shine, and hold your head up high. Keep on growing. Even on the darkest days, stand tall and find the sunlight.

~ Unknown