Tandem
The Rengay Journal
Submissions for
Vol. 2, Issue 2
now closed
Vol. 2, Issue 1
now available on
Amazon.com
What Is Rengay
What Is Rengay
Rengay is a poetic form invented by Garry Gay in 1992. He developed the idea somewhat in reaction to the established longer forms, renku and renga. But he was always moving towards developing this form because of the issues he had with writing renku. He found the renku form was too long and took too much time to write. He found the form's rules off-putting. They specify: the incorporation of the four seasons and where they are positioned in the sequence; which images one can use and when; verb endings in particular positions; flower and moon verses in particular positions; how linking and shifting works; and how the progression of seasonal and nonseasonal verses changes depending on the season of the starting verse. The contributors are governed by the master who decides if a particular verse is acceptable. Garry Gay was looking for a simpler form, one with less restrictions, one that was more enjoyable and quicker to write. The result: rengay!
Please see the Submission Guidelines for the exact verse form in a rengay.
Why a Rengay Journal?
We, the editors, look forward in anticipation to our inaugural issue of Tandem. Despite, and maybe as a result of, the unusual and persistent stresses of this past year, we have been able to create and offer a new print journal that will provide a venue specifically for the collaborative form of rengay.
Interest in writing rengay seems to be growing, yet only a few journals publish them. And those that do, have limited space for rengay because they accept other forms as well.
After struggling to find places to submit our own work, we decided to create a journal ourselves—one devoted to the form of collaborative rengay—Tandem. The print version of the journal will be available through Kindle Direct Publishing.
Why Tandem?
Pretty simple, really. Anything done in tandem is the result of usually two people, sometimes more, working together. Success requires cooperation, compromise, mutual consideration—the sum total of the contributions of all parties involved. By the same token, Rengay is a collaborative poetic form, growing from the collective consciousness of two or three poets.
Bios for Editorial Staff
Marcyn Del Clements
With over 700 works in print, Marcyn Del Clements didn’t discover rengay until Garry Gay’s workshop in New York’s 2015 HNA Conference, and again in the 2019 North Carolina Conference, where she was guided by the creator himself. She is honored to be co-editing with two such prestigious rengay writers. Marcy has turned her swimming pool into a swimming pond and can now swim among her lilies, koi and goldfish.
Seren Fargo
Seren Fargo began writing Japanese-form poetry in 2009. Shortly thereafter, she founded the
Bellingham Haiku Group. Her work has won awards and has been widely published in several
countries. In recent years, her writing has expanded to include longer forms, like haibun and
rengay. A former wildlife biologist, Seren particularly enjoys incorporating her past and present
experiences from the natural world into her poetry. In Issa fashion, Seren has a pet house
spider, named Charlotte, who is three years old.
Ignatius Fay
Ignatius is an invertebrate paleontologist, retired due to disability. He has been writing Japanese short-form poetry for more than twenty-five years. He writes haiku, tanka, haibun, tanka prose and rengay. He is the editor of the HSA’s online newsletter and the layout artist for frogpond. Ignatius was once approached by a neighboring octogenarian for medical advice because the neighbor had heard that Ignatius was a doctor who studied old bones.
Rengay is a poetic form invented by Garry Gay in 1992. He developed the idea somewhat in reaction to the established longer forms, renku and renga. But he was always moving towards developing this form because of the issues he had with writing renku. He found the renku form was too long and took too much time to write. He found the form's rules off-putting. They specify: the incorporation of the four seasons and where they are positioned in the sequence; which images one can use and when; verb endings in particular positions; flower and moon verses in particular positions; how linking and shifting works; and how the progression of seasonal and nonseasonal verses changes depending on the season of the starting verse. The contributors are governed by the master who decides if a particular verse is acceptable. Garry Gay was looking for a simpler form, one with less restrictions, one that was more enjoyable and quicker to write. The result: rengay!
Please see the Submission Guidelines for the exact verse form in a rengay.
Why a Rengay Journal?
We, the editors, look forward in anticipation to our inaugural issue of Tandem. Despite, and maybe as a result of, the unusual and persistent stresses of this past year, we have been able to create and offer a new print journal that will provide a venue specifically for the collaborative form of rengay.
Interest in writing rengay seems to be growing, yet only a few journals publish them. And those that do, have limited space for rengay because they accept other forms as well.
After struggling to find places to submit our own work, we decided to create a journal ourselves—one devoted to the form of collaborative rengay—Tandem. The print version of the journal will be available through Kindle Direct Publishing.
Why Tandem?
Pretty simple, really. Anything done in tandem is the result of usually two people, sometimes more, working together. Success requires cooperation, compromise, mutual consideration—the sum total of the contributions of all parties involved. By the same token, Rengay is a collaborative poetic form, growing from the collective consciousness of two or three poets.
Bios for Editorial Staff
Marcyn Del Clements
With over 700 works in print, Marcyn Del Clements didn’t discover rengay until Garry Gay’s workshop in New York’s 2015 HNA Conference, and again in the 2019 North Carolina Conference, where she was guided by the creator himself. She is honored to be co-editing with two such prestigious rengay writers. Marcy has turned her swimming pool into a swimming pond and can now swim among her lilies, koi and goldfish.
Seren Fargo
Seren Fargo began writing Japanese-form poetry in 2009. Shortly thereafter, she founded the
Bellingham Haiku Group. Her work has won awards and has been widely published in several
countries. In recent years, her writing has expanded to include longer forms, like haibun and
rengay. A former wildlife biologist, Seren particularly enjoys incorporating her past and present
experiences from the natural world into her poetry. In Issa fashion, Seren has a pet house
spider, named Charlotte, who is three years old.
Ignatius Fay
Ignatius is an invertebrate paleontologist, retired due to disability. He has been writing Japanese short-form poetry for more than twenty-five years. He writes haiku, tanka, haibun, tanka prose and rengay. He is the editor of the HSA’s online newsletter and the layout artist for frogpond. Ignatius was once approached by a neighboring octogenarian for medical advice because the neighbor had heard that Ignatius was a doctor who studied old bones.
Submissions
Tandem Guidelines
Please read guidelines thoroughly prior to submitting. If you do not adhere to the guidelines, your submission will not be considered.
Please keep in mind, we are looking for quality; not quantity.
Submission Windows
Spring issue: January 15–February 15 (comes out in April)
Autumn issue: July 1–31 (comes out in October)
Format
Tandem is a collaborative rengay-only print journal. Submissions must be in-hand by the end of the submission period.
Although longer versions of rengay exist, we are accepting only 6-verse rengay. Rengay may have 2, 3, or 6 authors, in the following formats:
2 authors (A & B): A-3 | B-2 | A-3 | B-3 | A-2 | B-3
3 authors (A, B, & C): A-3 | B-2 | C-3 | A-2 | B-3 | C-2
6 authors (A, B, C, D, E, & F): choose either format for 2 or 3 authors.
A-3 | B-2 | C-3 | D-3 | E-2 | F-3 or A-3 | B-2 | C-3 | D-2 | E-3 | F-2
• Each rengay must have a title.
• Indicate the author of each verse by placing their initials next to each (these will be removed in final print form). Do not use other forms of differentiating authors.
• Put a single space between verses.
• Do not double-space the verses themselves.
• In general, do not use bold for titles/verses.
• If you are including more than one rengay in your submission, make sure the authors’ full names are beneath each individual rengay, and put a solid horizontal line as separation before the title of the next rengay.
Submissions
Only one submission, up to 5 rengay, per submission period from any particular collaborative group. A given poet may submit with a maximum of three different collaborative groups. Rengay must be previously unpublished and not under consideration elsewhere. ‘Previously published’ includes print and online journals, as well as public social media, such as blogs, etc.
Submissions may be made by email only. Put ‘Tandem Submission’ in the Subject Line to make sure it isn’t accidentally overlooked. Please type your rengay into the body of the email. If you copy/paste, ensure that the format in the email adheres to our guidelines. NO attachments. Note any special formatting in your email text.
Include the full names of all the authors as they wish them to appear in the journal, as well as the location of each author (City, State/Province, Country).
Include a short bio for each author (maximum of 75 words each). We want readers to know you as real people, who you are when you are not writing poetry. And we want a fun fact to add a little color. Lists of published works will be edited out, as will words above the 75-word limit. Bios need only be submitted once because we keep them on file for future submissions.
Send to Marcyn Del Clements — tandem.mclements@gmail.com
Selection
Submissions will be read and considered by the entire editorial staff. Rengay will be accepted when at least two of the editors have chosen the poem for inclusion. Selections will be made within 2 months of the end of the submission periods. Poets will be notified as to whether or not their poems will be included and receive emails including their poems and bios, to confirm spelling and formatting. Each subsequent issue will feature an “Editors’ Pick”: a favorite rengay from the previous issue.
If you have any questions regarding submissions, contact either Ignatius Fay (tandem.ifay@gmail.com) or Seren Fargo (tandemrengay.seren@gmail.com)
Rights
Tandem retains first publication rights for accepted work. Once published, rights revert to the author, but Tandem retains the right to reprint the work in future editions, anthologies, etc.
Compensation
Tandem is unable to provide compensation for contributed work.
Please read guidelines thoroughly prior to submitting. If you do not adhere to the guidelines, your submission will not be considered.
Please keep in mind, we are looking for quality; not quantity.
Submission Windows
Spring issue: January 15–February 15 (comes out in April)
Autumn issue: July 1–31 (comes out in October)
Format
Tandem is a collaborative rengay-only print journal. Submissions must be in-hand by the end of the submission period.
Although longer versions of rengay exist, we are accepting only 6-verse rengay. Rengay may have 2, 3, or 6 authors, in the following formats:
2 authors (A & B): A-3 | B-2 | A-3 | B-3 | A-2 | B-3
3 authors (A, B, & C): A-3 | B-2 | C-3 | A-2 | B-3 | C-2
6 authors (A, B, C, D, E, & F): choose either format for 2 or 3 authors.
A-3 | B-2 | C-3 | D-3 | E-2 | F-3 or A-3 | B-2 | C-3 | D-2 | E-3 | F-2
• Each rengay must have a title.
• Indicate the author of each verse by placing their initials next to each (these will be removed in final print form). Do not use other forms of differentiating authors.
• Put a single space between verses.
• Do not double-space the verses themselves.
• In general, do not use bold for titles/verses.
• If you are including more than one rengay in your submission, make sure the authors’ full names are beneath each individual rengay, and put a solid horizontal line as separation before the title of the next rengay.
Submissions
Only one submission, up to 5 rengay, per submission period from any particular collaborative group. A given poet may submit with a maximum of three different collaborative groups. Rengay must be previously unpublished and not under consideration elsewhere. ‘Previously published’ includes print and online journals, as well as public social media, such as blogs, etc.
Submissions may be made by email only. Put ‘Tandem Submission’ in the Subject Line to make sure it isn’t accidentally overlooked. Please type your rengay into the body of the email. If you copy/paste, ensure that the format in the email adheres to our guidelines. NO attachments. Note any special formatting in your email text.
Include the full names of all the authors as they wish them to appear in the journal, as well as the location of each author (City, State/Province, Country).
Include a short bio for each author (maximum of 75 words each). We want readers to know you as real people, who you are when you are not writing poetry. And we want a fun fact to add a little color. Lists of published works will be edited out, as will words above the 75-word limit. Bios need only be submitted once because we keep them on file for future submissions.
Send to Marcyn Del Clements — tandem.mclements@gmail.com
Selection
Submissions will be read and considered by the entire editorial staff. Rengay will be accepted when at least two of the editors have chosen the poem for inclusion. Selections will be made within 2 months of the end of the submission periods. Poets will be notified as to whether or not their poems will be included and receive emails including their poems and bios, to confirm spelling and formatting. Each subsequent issue will feature an “Editors’ Pick”: a favorite rengay from the previous issue.
If you have any questions regarding submissions, contact either Ignatius Fay (tandem.ifay@gmail.com) or Seren Fargo (tandemrengay.seren@gmail.com)
Rights
Tandem retains first publication rights for accepted work. Once published, rights revert to the author, but Tandem retains the right to reprint the work in future editions, anthologies, etc.
Compensation
Tandem is unable to provide compensation for contributed work.
Subscriptions
Subscribing to Tandem
An annual subscription includes two issues of Tandem, April and October. Costs vary wih geographical location.
U.S. — $20.00 U.S.
Canada — $40.00 U.S.
Eastern Europe — $40.00 U.S.
England/Ireland — $40.00 U.S.
New Zealand/Australia — $45.00 U.S.
Prices include taxes and postage.
Payment may be made by Paypal or e-Transfer to ifay@vianet.ca,
or by check to:
Ignatius Fay
600 William Avenue, Unit 33
Sudbury, ON, P3A 5M9
Canada.
Without Subscription
Copies may be purchased from Amazon worldwide. In the U.S., use this link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1777089530
Elsewhere, search for Tandem The Rengay Journal on your local Amazon site.
An annual subscription includes two issues of Tandem, April and October. Costs vary wih geographical location.
U.S. — $20.00 U.S.
Canada — $40.00 U.S.
Eastern Europe — $40.00 U.S.
England/Ireland — $40.00 U.S.
New Zealand/Australia — $45.00 U.S.
Prices include taxes and postage.
Payment may be made by Paypal or e-Transfer to ifay@vianet.ca,
or by check to:
Ignatius Fay
600 William Avenue, Unit 33
Sudbury, ON, P3A 5M9
Canada.
Without Subscription
Copies may be purchased from Amazon worldwide. In the U.S., use this link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1777089530
Elsewhere, search for Tandem The Rengay Journal on your local Amazon site.
Notes & Links
Good Rengay have
Rengay Information
For additional information on rengay formats and more writing tips, please check out these links:
Garry Gay, the creator of the rengay form
Garry Gay on Rengay
Michael Dylan Welch’s website, www.rengay.com, offers many examples of rengay, as well as essays on the form written by Welch and many others. A wealth of information.
https://www.rengay.com/rengay-essays
The Rengay Verse Form by J. Zimmerman is a webpage devoted to defining rengay and how to write them. http://www.baymoon.com/~ariadne/form/rengay.htm
Rengay by Michael Dylan Welch is a wonderful history of the origin and history of rengay. The article is part of Haikupedia, The Haiku Foundation Encyclopedia of Haiku, an unparalleled resource for all things haiku. The article includes examples, useful links and references.
https://haikupedia.org/article-haikupedia/rengay/
- a unifying theme that runs throughout. Superior rengay have more than one theme without the themes seeming forced; each verse responds, in some way, to the preceding verse;
- verses that can stand alone as poems
- a title that reflects the theme(s), but does not seem obvious;
- 2-line verses that are not simply 3-line haiku written in two lines.
Rengay Information
For additional information on rengay formats and more writing tips, please check out these links:
Garry Gay, the creator of the rengay form
Garry Gay on Rengay
Michael Dylan Welch’s website, www.rengay.com, offers many examples of rengay, as well as essays on the form written by Welch and many others. A wealth of information.
https://www.rengay.com/rengay-essays
The Rengay Verse Form by J. Zimmerman is a webpage devoted to defining rengay and how to write them. http://www.baymoon.com/~ariadne/form/rengay.htm
Rengay by Michael Dylan Welch is a wonderful history of the origin and history of rengay. The article is part of Haikupedia, The Haiku Foundation Encyclopedia of Haiku, an unparalleled resource for all things haiku. The article includes examples, useful links and references.
https://haikupedia.org/article-haikupedia/rengay/
