Laurels

Laurels: Tanka Society of America Online Journal

Laurels is the twice-yearly online publication of the Tanka Society of America, launched in 2024, for members only (nonmembers and members are welcome to submit to our print publication, Ribbons). Each issue of Laurels focuses on an announced theme, with members serving as guest editors. Layout and design is by Michael Dylan Welch, with images sourced from Unsplash. Laurels invites individual tanka only, and does not include sequences, tanka prose, essays, or reviews, and will accept no more than one poem per member per issue. We invite members to submit up to three unpublished tanka for each issue. Please, no simultaneous or multiple submissions (submit only once).

Submission Deadlines

Laurels submission deadlines are in-hand no later than the following dates:

• January 31

• June 30

Each Laurels guest editor will typically respond to all submissions within one month of each submission deadline.

Laurels #6 Submission Guidelines for members only

• Guest editor: Rick Jackofsky

• Theme: Transience

Dewdrops, cherry blossoms, fruit flies, pop stars—the world is full of things that remind us of the cyclical nature of the universe, as well as our fleeting presence within it. A line from a song I wrote, called “When the Apples Bloom in New York,” speaks to my personal observations of the ephemeral quality of life. “Living on an island, people come and go like the tide . . .” For Laurels #6, please submit up to three tanka that conjure up an image of the people, places, or things that come and go in your world.

cracking down

on the transient population

a cold wind

sweeps the snow

off a park bench

Submissions (TSA members only): Please submit by June 30, 2026 using our online submission form. The form should work correctly for nearly everyone, but if it does not work for you, please try accessing it using a different device. If it still does not work correctly for you, please email Rick Jackofsky at rjackofsky@gmail.com or submit by postal mail to Rick Jackofsky, 70 Sunburst Dr., Rocky Point, NY 11778 USA.

How to Join TSA