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.