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In his new book of poetry, TANKA YEAR, George Roberts immerses himself in a traditional Japanese verse form, the tanka, observing its specific technical and content requirements thirty-one syllables, five lines, observation of nature, controlled passion and reflection while standing firmly in the present and honoring the zen quality of impermanence in each moment. Tan, in Japanese, means short, and kam means poem or song. So a tanka year could be a collection of brief poems about the passage of time through the seasons. The original project, a fine letterpress printed edition of seven, sold immediately, and the need to offer the poems in another format arose. Thus this standard edition, which attempts to echo the aesthetics of the deluxe edition, without encumbering either the printer (DownStairs Press) or the reader (you) with the time and cost a fine print edition requires. In the end, the poems carry the day. They are all here in this new book for you to enjoy, it is hoped with the same spontaneous light in which it was written.
