Japan Times reviews The Tanka Anthology

Historically, of course, the 31-syllable tanka precedes the 17-syllable haiku by more than a thousand years. Michael McClintock's detailed introduction to "The Tanka Anthology" describes the background of the form in early writing, its predominance in the first great anthologies of poetry, and its naturalness and suitability to the rhythms of the Japanese language. From its first appearance in the eighth-century "Man'yoshu" to its best-seller status at the hands of contemporary poets, this form has had an extraordinarily long run by any standards