Poetry is universal. It is read and written all over the world. One of the joys of exploring it is the fact that you can try the patterns that have been devised across the globe and across the centuries, write them in your own language, and so place yourself in touch with other cultures and other poets everywhere.
One of the world’s most popular forms of syllabic poetry originated in Japan. In the thirteenth century, the collaborative renga, a sequence ofcreates its poetic effect in just a few syllables, without using rhyme and metre to cement its message. In fact, it’s so brief that the inclusion of rhyme and metre would trespass on the delicacy of its construction.
