Gogyohka (pronounced in four syllables with all hard g’s, as in “good”) literally translates as “five-line verse”. It is an evolution of the great Japanese tradition of short verse, but unlike its predecessors Haiku and Tanka, it has no fixed syllable pattern. There are also no conventions governing content and no assumptions about what is considered to be appropriately “poetic” language. Indeed Gogyohka’s accessibility and its power to speak directly to the heart and mind stem from the simplicity of its form, its frequent use of the everyday vernacular and the unwritten rule that almost any subject matter is game.
– from Gogyohka Junction
Vicki Hudson 