In this episode of Poetry Pea, the leading English-language haiku podcast, Patricia asks can a single line hold an entire world?

In this special Poetry Pea podcast, we explore the art of the one-line haiku and senryū through a carefully curated selection of original poems chosen from our latest submission period.

Writing a successful one-line poem is far more challenging than it appears. In this episode you'll hear the poems selected for publication, discover why some stood out from hundreds of submissions, and listen to commentary exploring what makes an effective one-liner.

This episode also features:

• Judges' Choices nominations from Clive Grewcock, Lee Hudspeth, Johnny Moran and David Green
• Commentary from the Poetry Pea editorial team member and guest contributor Lev Hart
• Insights into the craft of contemporary haiku and senryū

Whether you're an experienced haiku poet or just beginning your journey, these original poems demonstrate the precision, surprise and resonance that make one-line haiku so compelling.

Poetry Pea is one of the world's leading podcasts dedicated to haiku, senryū and Japanese short-form poetry, featuring poetry readings, interviews, craft discussions and inspiration for writers at every stage.

Poet's featured today:

John S Green

Clive Grewcock

Sheikha A

Susan Andrews

Cynthia Anderson

Emil Karla

Peter Jastermsky

Adele Gallogly

Steve Bahr

Gavin Austin

Deborah A Bennett

Rowan Beckett Minor

Jill Muhrer

Michael Muller

Stephanie Zepherelli

Lee Hudspeth

Jacek Margolak

Neena Singh

CX Turner

Jamie Wimberley

Sara Winteridge

Robert Witmer

Anna Yin

Nitu Yumnam

Pegah Rahmati Nezhad

Deborah Karl-Brandt

Lori Kiefer

Martina Matijević

Rob McKinnon

Lorraine Haig

Tony Williams

Rupa Anand

Kimberly Kuchar

Mary Oishi

Rebecca Upjohn

Katie Montagna

Maria Cristina Pulvirenti

Jenny Shepherd

Norman Silver

Lisa Billa

Jennifer L Blanck

Marc Brimble

Mariangela Canzi

Erin Castaldi

Tim Cremin

Christopher Seep

Laurinda Lind

Johnny Moran

petro ck

Tracy Davidson

Melissa Dennison

Joan C. Fingon

Mark Forrester

Denisa Hanšutová

Jon Hare

Maeve O'Sullivan

Florence Heyhoe

Louise Hopewell

Lakshmi Iyer

Celia Jenkins

Deborah Karl-Brandt

Mark Gilbert

Arvinder Kaur

Rohan Buettel

Richard Tice

Biswajit Mishra

David Green

In this episode, In this episode of Poetry Pea, the leading English-language haiku podcast, Patricia McGuire shares the haiku and senryū selected from the June 2026 Poetry Pea Video Prompt, beautifully curated by Lakshmi Iyer.

Expect poems filled with birdsong, summer heat, nesting season, squirrels, sparrows, warblers and the small moments that make haiku so memorable. Alongside the selected poems, Patricia also reads a collection of bonus sparrow haiku by contemporary poets and classics from Bashō and Buson.

If today's episode inspires you, why not join the next Poetry Pea Video Prompt? New prompts appear on the Poetry Pea YouTube channel almost every month, and your haiku could be featured on a future Poetry Pea Podcast and published in the Poetry Pea Journal.

Whether you're an experienced haiku poet or just discovering the genre, this episode is a joyful celebration of observation, nature and the Poetry Pea community.

Poets featured:

Neena Singh

Ralph Mathews

Alicia Samson

Rupa Anand

Rupa Anand

Reid Hepworth

Vaishnavi Ramaswamy

Susanne Urowitz

Seamus O' Connor

Mona Bedi

Melissa Dennison

Joanna Ashwell

Mary Oishi

Joshua St. Claire

Jo Balistreri

Buson, Trs Michael Haldane

Keith Evetts

Bruce H Feingold

Bill Fay

Craig Kittner

Isabel Caves

Kristen Lindquist

David Oates, PPJ

Sankara Jayanth

Basho, Trs David Landis Barnhill

In this episode of Poetry Pea, the leading English-language haiku podcast, Patricia asks what makes a haiku a haiku? Is there really a difference between traditional and contemporary haiku, or have we complicated something that was once quite simple?

In this episode of the Poetry Peacast, Patricia explores the essential elements of the Japanese haiku tradition, discussing the must haves of haiku.

Drawing on the work of Haruo Shirane, William J. Higginson, Michael Dylan Welch and Robert D. Wilson, she examines why seasonality matters, how the cut creates resonance, and why these techniques continue to give haiku their unique emotional power.

Along the way, Patricia analyses poems by Buson, Bashō, Den Sutejo, Katayama Yumiko, Don Baird, Neena Singh, Meera Rehm, Bruce H. Feingold and Bisshie, sharing practical insights that will help you read and write stronger haiku.

Whether you're new to haiku or a long-time practitioner, this thoughtful discussion invites you to reconsider what truly defines the genre.

In this episode:

• What kigo really contributes to a haiku
• The purpose of the kireji, or cut
• Why sensory imagery matters
• Close readings of classic and modern haiku
• Practical inspiration for your own writing

Subscribe to the Poetry Peacast for weekly episodes exploring haiku, senryū, tanka, haibun and the craft of Japanese short-form poetry.

Support the podcast

show notes

In this episode of the Poetry Pea Podcast, Patricia McGuire introduces the remarkable poetry of Anne McKay, an award-winning Canadian poet whose lyrical haiku and haiku-inspired poetry deserve to be much better known.

She explores a selection of Anne McKay's haiku, looking at her evocative imagery, her musical use of language, her distinctive use of white space, and the subtle techniques that make her poems linger long after they've been read. Along the way, Patricia reflects on reading haiku aloud, the role of punctuation in contemporary haiku, and white space.

Whether you're new to Anne McKay's work or already a fan, this episode offers a thoughtful exploration of a poet whose quiet observations should inspire readers around the world.

Don't forget to visit the Poetry Pea YouTube channel and take part in this month's video prompt. Guest editor Matt Snyder is looking forward to reading your haiku, senryū and haibun, and your poem could be selected for publication in the next Poetry Pea Journal and featured on a future Poetry Pea Podcast.

If you enjoy the podcast, please follow, rate and leave a review. It helps other poetry lovers discover the show.

In this episode:

• Anne McKay's haiku and poetic style

• Reading haiku aloud

• White space, sound and punctuation in haiku

• Haiku technique and close reading

• This month's Poetry Pea video prompt

Keep writing.

Rivers have always carried stories. In this episode of the Poetry Pea Podcast, we follow their winding course through a carefully curated collection of contemporary haiku and senryū, alongside classic poems that continue to inspire writers today.

These tiny poems explore rivers as places of connection and separation, memory and movement, peace and conflict. From quiet birdsong to distant sirens, from bridges that unite to waters that divide, each haiku offers a fresh perspective on one of poetry's oldest and richest images.

Featured poets:

Johnny Moran

Kim Klugh

Melissa Dennison

Mona Bedi

Rupa Anand

Jacek Margolak

Anjali Warhadpande

Paul Callus

Lakshmi Iyer

Sandip Chauhan

Vikram Kolmannskog

Arvinder Kaur

Vaishnavi Ramaswamy, India

Tony Williams

Corinne Timmer

Minal Sarosh

Ian Richardson

Rowan Beckett Minor, PPJ 3:25

Anna Maria Domburg-Sancristoforo

Anthony Lusardi

Robin Rich

Caroline Ridley-Duff

Janice Doppler

Okamoto Kanoko, trs Makoto Ueda

Maya Daneva

Buson, trs RH Blyth

Roger Ishii

David Cox

If you write haiku, senryū or Japanese short-form poetry, this episode is full of inspiration for your own writing. And don't forget to visit the Poetry Pea YouTube channel to take part in this month's video prompt, guest-edited by Lakshmi Iyer—there's still time to leave your poem in the comments.

Subscribe to the Poetry Pea Podcast for weekly episodes celebrating haiku, senryū, haibun, tanka, poetry craft, interviews with leading poets, and practical inspiration for writers at every stage of their journey.

See you next week.

This week's episode page

In the final episode of this three-part series on noun poetry, Patricia reads a wonderful collection of listener poems, inspired by the nouns. This episode examines how carefully chosen images can evoke emotion without relying on explanation or abstract language.

With practical analysis and inspiring examples, this episode offers valuable insights for anyone looking to write stronger haiku, senryū and short-form poetry.

Whether you're a seasoned poet or just beginning your haiku journey, you'll come away with a deeper appreciation of the power of images, the importance of observation and the quiet magic that happens when nouns are allowed to do the work.

There's a little bit of homework for you this week, check the show notes.

Subscribe to the Poetry Pea Podcast for weekly conversations about haiku, senryū, haibun and the craft of Japanese short-form poetry. And if you enjoy the show, please leave a review and share it with a fellow poet—it really helps the podcast grow.

Poets Featured today:

Rebecca Upjohn

Andrea Cisco

Jeannie Harkema

Ralph Matthews

Vaishnavi Ramaswamy

Steve Bahr

Cynthia Anderson

Seamus O’Connor

Lorraine Padden

Kim Klugh

Susan Andrews

Melissa Dennison

Jenny Shepherd

Rupa Anand

Mark Forrester

Tony Williams

Alicia Samson

Katie Montagna

Christine Wenk-Harrison

Jonathan English

Emil Karla

Sangita Kalarickal

Elliot Diamond

Richard Tice

Neena Singh

Bisshie

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 lyricism
• Haiku without verbs and the illusion of movement
• The role of juxtaposition and reader participation
• The "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

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