Welcome to the Sunflower Tanka Anthology

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.

Robbie Cheadle & Colleen Chesebro believe every syllabic poet deserves the chance to get their poetry published—without burning out or selling out. With over a decade of experience across writing, design, and digital projects, Robbie & Colleen have lived the highs and lows of the creative path.

The Sunflower Tanka Anthology is created by poets with a passion for creating syllabic poetry.

What Our Readers Say

The Sunflower Tanka Anthology celebrates the art of creating tanka, tanka prose & other experimental tanka forms.

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

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

The 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 mind scape of human dreams and imagination. I warmly recommend it to all lovers of poetry, of beauty and… of dreams!

~Amazon Reviewer