Whiptail Journal of the Single-line Poem 13

About

What is single-line poetry and what do we publish? English-language haiku, tanka, and other short poems often have line breaks that create tercets, quatrains, quintets, or other line configurations. Japanese haiku, however, are often printed in a column to create a vertical single-line poem. The poem of a single line is not a new technique, but a traditional presentation of haiku made new again in English. Unlike poetry with line breaks, single-line poetry does not rely on physical enjambment to enhance the meaning of the poem. As such, one-line poetry can have more than one break in syntax to create multiple meanings. Single-line poetry can be a slippery lizard or a long-necked swan. The single-line poetry published in Whiptail includes monostich haiku (“monoku” or “ku”), one-line tanka, poetic fragments, and one-line micropoems. The poems can be one word in length up to a column’s width, written horizontally, vertically, or as a concrete poem in any shape a line may take. When used, punctuation should be purposeful. No titles, please. We also publish haiga, shahai, taiga, and vispo that employ a one-line poem.

Country of Publication & Year Established

United States

Established in 2021