TSA Mentorship Program

The Tanka Society of America mentorship program, which started in 2023, is open to anyone seeking to cultivate their tanka craft and to build community around tanka and related forms. After a successful first year, Ryland Li and Theresa Cancro will be running it again in 2024. Ideal candidates should be interested in meeting regularly with a small group to workshop, write, and discuss tanka, led by an experienced tanka poet. We expect candidates to commit to meeting regularly for at least six months.

We welcome participation by both beginner and experienced poets, and we hope to offer groups targeted at newer poets as well as those with a range of experience levels. For poets who are highly experienced and interested in sharing your knowledge with others, we encourage you to apply to lead a group as a mentor.

If you are interested, please sign up on our Mentorship Sign-Up form. The form asks questions about your group preferences. We will do our best to match your preferences, but cannot guarantee a perfect match. Participation is free, and open to both TSA members and nonmembers.

The application deadline is May 31, 2024. We intend to contact applicants about group placement by no later than June 30. If you have any questions, please email tsamentorship@gmail.com.