Martin Lucas was born in Middlesbrough, England, in 1962, and currently lives and works in Preston. He has been writing tanka for about fifteen years and had his first tanka publication when Jane Reichhold selected three poems for inclusion in Wind Five-folded (Gualala, CA: AHA Books, 1994). He has included some tanka in his own haiku collections, Darkness and Light (Wisbech: Hub Editions, 1996) and Moonrock (Isleworth: Ram Publications, 2002). His tanka have been published in several journals internationally, but primarily in the UK journals Blithe Spirit and Tangled Hair. Two of his tanka were also selected by Brian Tasker for inclusion in the anthology, In the Ship's Wake (North Shields: Iron Press, 2001). He edits the haiku journal, Presence (founded 1996), which includes a selection of tanka in each issue. He is currently serving as President of the British Haiku Society. His own favourite tanka poets in the English language are: Brian Tasker, Helen Robinson, Tom Clausen, Cherie Hunter Day and John Barlow. His favourite Japanese tanka poets are the ancients: Saigyo, Fujiwara no Teika and Izumi Shikibu, and his favourite translator is Kenneth Rexroth.