In
Charm, Elegance, and Intrigue Volume II, Mark Schardine primarily writes using the tanka form. Merriam-Webster defines tanka as "
An unrhymed Japanese verse form of five lines containing, five, seven, five, seven, and seven syllables respectively" In this volume, Mark shares stories of love, family, missed connections, adultery, and societal taboos. He deviates from traditional Japanese themes to make a tanka form his own. His work is influenced by perceived societal rigidity of the Victorian Era and its contrast to France's artistic
Belle 夗oque. Mark tells a complete story, connects and engages readers, and encourages them to reflect in just thirty-one syllables.
The best way to experience this book is to keep it close. It is not a book that you read from cover to cover; but one you find yourself picking up time after time. You can find poems about redemption, revenge, remorse, or regret and read five or twenty. The poems in
Charm, Elegance, and Intrigue Volume II will have you linger in contemplation and should be savored like your first sip of Chablis or your last swill of scotch.
