Bro ken Rengay: Unruly Poetry

Bro ken Rengay is a collaborative poetry collection by Barbara Leonhard, Melissa Lemay, and Nolcha Fox. Inspired by the rengay form-created by Garry Gay in 1992 as an alternative to renga and renku-this book follows the six-verse linked structure while playfully breaking its traditional rules.

Originally, Barbara and Nolcha collaborated on Too Much Fun to Be Legal. When Melissa discovered their work, she suggested the three of them write rengay together. The result? A series of poems where humor, anger, and deep emotions intertwine, forming an authentic and dynamic voice.

While honoring the alternating three-line and two-line stanza pattern of rengay, the poets deliberately abandoned strict haiku syllable counts-breaking, bending, and reshaping the form as they wrote. Their creative rebellion led to a collection filled with wit, raw emotion, and a deep poetic synergy so strong they often forgot who wrote which stanza.

We hope you enjoy the laughter, the passion, and the unexpected twists within these pages.