Poetry Pea - haiku and other English Language Japanese short forms

Poetry Pea
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Poetry Pea is a poetry podcast from www.poetrypea.com. It features haiku and senryu and other Japanese short form poetry. There are lots of free writing resources, workshops from experts, readings of original poetry, haiku and senryu, as well as prompts and writing exercises. You can submit your haiku or senryu to Patricia and be featured on the podcast and in the Poetry Pea Journal. Let’s write together.

  1. S9E23 The Poetry of Nouns part 2: Can Haiku Sing without Verbs?

    2d ago

    S9E23 The Poetry of Nouns part 2: Can Haiku Sing without Verbs?

    Can a haiku be lyrical without relying on verbs? Can a handful of carefully chosen nouns carry all the emotional weight a poem needs? In this second episode exploring the poetry of nouns, Patricia examines how concrete images create resonance, rhythm and lyricism in haiku and senryū. Drawing on poems by: Alan Summers Radostina Dragostinova Hifsa Ashraf Laura Driscoll Sharon Lynne Yee Mark Gilbert Paul m Christopher Peys Máire Morrissey-Cummins Lovette Carter Katie Montagna James Young Eve Castle Kikaku Patricia explores the idea that the reader becomes a co-poet, discovering meaning in the spaces between images. Along the way, you'll hear discussions of the arrested moment, juxtaposition, movement without verbs, and the surprising musicality that emerges from noun-heavy poetry. Whether you're an experienced haiku poet or just beginning your journey into Japanese short-form poetry, this episode offers practical insights into writing more evocative, image-driven work. In this episode: Why concrete nouns can create powerful lyricismHaiku without verbs and the illusion of movementThe role of juxtaposition and reader participationThe "arrested moment" in lyric poetry The Poetry Pea Podcast is a weekly podcast for haiku, senryū and haibun writers, featuring poetry, craft discussions, interviews and inspiration for poets around the world. Show notes

    33 min
  2. S9E22 The Poetry of Nouns: Verbless Haiku and the Power of Suggestion

    Jun 8

    S9E22 The Poetry of Nouns: Verbless Haiku and the Power of Suggestion

    In this episode of the Poetry Pea Podcast, we explore why haiku has often been described as "the poetry of the noun" and ask whether removing verbs and limiting adjectives can make a poem even more powerful. Through close readings of haiku by John Wills, Elizabeth Searle Lamb, Charles Rossiter, Noel King, Choshi, Anne Curran, and Bisshie, we discover how concrete nouns create atmosphere, emotion and meaning without explanation. We look at Edward Hirsch's idea of the "arrested moment" and Michael Dylan Welch's advice to write not about your feelings, but about what caused them. Can a poem made almost entirely of nouns hold a reader's attention? Can omission create deeper emotional resonance than description? And how we should trust readers to make their own connections? If you write or love haiku, senryū, Japanese poetry, imagist poetry, or minimalist writing, this episode offers practical insights and examples to inspire your own work. Plus, there's a new writing challenge: can you create a noun-heavy, no-verb haiku that invites the reader to join the dots? If you can get it to me by the 16th June, 2026 it might make it into another podcast and the next journal. Join us for an episode about the remarkable power of concrete imagery. Links in the show notes

    34 min
  3. S9E21 Flashku: Tiny Poems and One Line Haiku

    Jun 1

    S9E21 Flashku: Tiny Poems and One Line Haiku

    In this episode of the Poetry Pea Podcast, Patricia shares a fresh collection of haiku and senryu from Poetry Pea’s much-loved Flashku submissions — a spontaneous 24-hour poetry challenge open to poets on the Poetry Pea mailing list. Featuring poems by Nalini Shetty, Robert Witmer, Sébastien Revon, Emil Karla, Steve Bahr, Katie Montagna, Deborah A Bennett, Samo Kreutz, Cynthia Anderson, Sara Winteridge, John Hare, Mark Forrester, Robin Rich, Tony Williams, Vaishnavi Ramaswamy and Elliot Diamond Along the way there’s a heartfelt apology to Ralph Matthews for previously misspelling his name in the journal — now happily corrected. The episode finishes with a delightful selection of one-line poems from the Poetry Pea archives and the Little Marvels anthologies, including work by Lev Hart, Kim Klugh, Nitu Yumnam, Sarah Paris, Srinivas S, Faye Brinsmead, Kat Lehmann, Willie R Bongcaron, Daniela Misso, Rashmi VeSa, Debbie Strange, Craig Kittner and Anjali Warhadpande. If you enjoy small poems filled with observation, atmosphere and quiet surprise, this episode is for you. Submissions for Poetry Pea’s current one-line poem window are open until 15th June. Visit the Poetry Pea website for details, workshops, submission opportunities and the latest Submission Agenda. Episode webpage

    20 min
  4. S9E20 Poetry Pea Podcast April Video Prompt poems: pink skies, cricket song, and evening haiku

    May 25

    S9E20 Poetry Pea Podcast April Video Prompt poems: pink skies, cricket song, and evening haiku

    In this episode of the Poetry Pea Podcast, we share the chosen poems from April’s Poetry Pea Video Prompt, beautifully curated by Lakshmi Iyer. Inspired by pink skies, cricket song, twilight gardens, and fleeting moments of light, these poems explore the quiet beauty of the natural world through haiku and short-form poetry. Featuring poems by Marion Clarke, Ralph Mathews, Kerry J Heckman, Melissa Dennison, Vaishnavi Ramaswamy, Anne Curran, Kendall Oei, Jonathan Blakeslee, Hifsa Ashraf, Kim Klugh, Tom Bierovic, Veronica Tucker, Jennifer L. Black, Tony Williams, and more. We also include a special selection of bonus poems from Poetry Pea, Frogpond, Presence, and the wider haiku community. Whether you’re a poet, a poetry lover, or simply looking for a few moments of calm, settle in and enjoy this celebration of contemporary haiku, senryu, and micropoetry. Subscribe, share, and visit Poetry Pea to join our growing poetry community. Episode notes

    19 min
  5. S9E19 Soaring Beauty: Contemporary Lyrical Haiku and Senryu

    May 18

    S9E19 Soaring Beauty: Contemporary Lyrical Haiku and Senryu

    In this final episode of Poetry Pea’s series on lyricism in haiku and senryū, Patricia explores contemporary poems that sing—haiku and senryū rich in musicality, emotional resonance, and soaring beauty. With recommendations and insights from some poetry friends, we journey through lyrical work from some of today’s finest poets, asking what makes a haiku truly resonate. Is it sound, rhythm, imagery—or something harder to define? Do we come up with the answer? From birdsong and flowing rivers to moonlight, frost and bending grass, this episode celebrates poems that move us deeply without sentimentality, reminding us how much can be achieved with just a few carefully chosen words. Don't forget to check the shownotes.

    33 min
  6. S9E18 Haiku that Breathe: exploring Lyrical Short Forms

    May 11

    S9E18 Haiku that Breathe: exploring Lyrical Short Forms

    This episode of the Poetry Pea Podcast continues an exploration of lyrical haiku and senryū in the English language, with a focus on work written before the year 2000. What makes a haiku “lyrical”? Not overblown emotion or elaborate language, but a quieter musicality—rhythm, emotional restraint, and an image that’s allowed to resonate. This episode offers a thoughtful introduction to earlier contemporary haiku, setting the stage for a later look at more recent voices, in the next episode, do please join us. If you’re interested in poetry that values subtlety, attention, and the music of the spoken word, this is a good place to begin.

    33 min
  7. S9E17 Haiku on the River

    May 4

    S9E17 Haiku on the River

    This week on The Poetry Peacast, we drift into a river-inspired collection of haiku and senryu from our March video prompt. While Patricia is (technically) in Zürich, today’s episode is carried by the warm currents of South Africa, where the original footage was filmed during a memorable family trip. The poems featured here have been carefully edited and curated by Johnny Moran—thank you, Johnny—and capture a range of voices responding to water, movement, and the quiet details that make haiku and senryu so powerful. Congratulations to the poets whose work is included in this episode. Their poems will also appear in the upcoming issue of the 1:26 poetry journal. In this episode: A showcase of original haiku and senryuPoetry inspired by rivers, travel, and observationReflections on the March Poetry Pea video promptCommunity voices from poets around the worldIf you enjoy the podcast, you can support us by becoming a member, buying us a coffee, or making a donation via PayPal—all through our website. You can also help by sharing the podcast with your poetry friends and on social media. And yes—there’s a brief (and heartfelt) nod to Crystal Palace’s latest semi-final. Fingers firmly crossed. Subscribe to stay up to date with weekly poetry prompts, haiku, senryu, and readings. Keep writing. Featured Poets March Video Prompt Herb Tate Neena Singh David Cox Jennifer L. Blanck Mona Bedi Jacob Blumner  Lakshmi Iyer India  Melissa Dennison  Ralph Matthews Joshua gage Christopher Seep Vaishnavi Ramaswamy Alicia Samson Rohan Buettel Tony Williams   Bonus poetry   Robert Kingston, PPJ Autumn 2021 Mark Gilbert, PPJ Autumn 2021 Anne Morrigan, PPJ 2:23 MartinLucas from Freewheeling Brett Brady, PPJ 2021 John Hawkhead, PPJ Autumn 2020 Edward Cody Huddleston, Autumn 2020

    24 min
  8. S9E16 From Basho to Shiki classical lyrical haiku that endure

    Apr 27

    S9E16 From Basho to Shiki classical lyrical haiku that endure

    In this episode of the Poetry Pea Podcast, we continue our exploration of lyrical poetry with a journey into the work of the Japanese haiku masters. From Bashō and Buson to Issa and Shiki, and their contemporaries, we listen to classic haiku in translation and consider how sound, rhythm and imagery carry emotional resonance across centuries. Following last week’s episode on the eighteenth-century female poet, Chyio-ni, today we turn to the male masters and their friends and contemporaries. These poems span stillness, seasonal awareness, humour, melancholy and the fleeting beauty at the heart of haiku. Expect frogs, evening breezes, cherry blossom, mountain mist and the famous old pond — along with the rarely heard response verse from its original renku. All poems are read in English translation, allowing the musicality and lyricism of classical Japanese haiku to shine through for modern listeners. If you love haiku, Japanese poetry, short-form poetry, or want inspiration for your own writing, this episode offers a rich selection from some of the greatest poets in the tradition. Don’t forget to add your poem to this month’s Poetry Pea video prompt in the comments on the channel, and support the podcast if you can. Links to the poems mentioned are in the show notes.

    17 min
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About

Poetry Pea is a poetry podcast from www.poetrypea.com. It features haiku and senryu and other Japanese short form poetry. There are lots of free writing resources, workshops from experts, readings of original poetry, haiku and senryu, as well as prompts and writing exercises. You can submit your haiku or senryu to Patricia and be featured on the podcast and in the Poetry Pea Journal. Let’s write together.

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