Reviewing Sunflower Tanka: Poet Reena Saxena’s tanka poems

Today, I’m writing a poetry review of Reena Saxena’s tankas in the poetry anthology Sunflower Tanka. She used to work in the finance industry’s corporate world. She is multi-talented and has authored books in several genres. Her webpage has a showcase of her books. Please visit reinventionsreena.wordpress.com

As her blog title suggests, this is her journey in reinventions, as her pen traverses across the genres of nonfiction, fiction, and poetry. Reena shows her reinventions as a financial consultant, storyteller and poet.

Reena’s tankas are in Chapter 30 of the anthology. Into the Light is described a garland tanka as it contains six tankas. She describes observations of how a star gracefully exits, to allow a planet to take center stage, as one revolution of earth completes. This kind of reinvention can be seen in marine life with shells, as they grow and reinvent another shell, to better accommodate itself. The changes transforms the subject matter and a new form emerges.

This tanka inspires me with positive vibes. Reinvention is a common phenomena in today’s fast paced world. Mid-career changes are almost a norm, to flow with contemporary modernizations. I love the surprise at the concluding tanka. It is composed by bringing together one line from each of the earlier individual tankas. These lines become a tanka with a powerful message, that emphasizes the theme of the poem.

Reena’s other contributions are a tanka prose and double tanka.

I enjoyed reading Reena’s tankas.

If I had the chance to interview Reena, I would like to ask these questions:

1. How do you write your tankas?
2. Do you draft the plot of a novel?
3. Which of your books would you pick as the best hook to draw a new fan to your works?
4. What is your current writing project?
5. What new literary works do you plan to write?

Reference

Sunflower Tanka. Into The Light – 1st Edition 2024. Compiled by Robbie Cheadle & Colleen M. Chesebro.