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Prosody for the Cinqku
May 2005.

DEFINITION: The "cinqku" is a new tanka analogue; a seventeen syllable cinquain that assimilates as much as possible from the Japanese haiku and tanka traditions into the English poetic tradition. A primary concern for the cinqku is the effective use of the line break.

Cinqku is a cinquain form of tanka, one that is a closer analogue to tanka than is the American Cinquain (Crapseian) and that maximizes the utility of the line break technique. A cinqku is a cinquain with:

  • a strict syllable count (2,3,4,6,2) making 17 syllables on 5 lines

  • no title

  • tanka style free diction and syntax

  • no metrical requirement

  • a turn that may be similar to kireji or a cinquain turn.

    • Single cinqku generally are not titled however a poem consisting of several cinqku may be titled. Linked sequences are excellent natural forms for cinqku.

    Copyright © 2005-2006 by Denis M. Garrison.