Haiku Theory

What if a haiku isn't just a poem—but a living concept? Come along as we dive into haiku as conceptual experience: a compact, electrified Now where language, memory, and experience collide. By reimagining haiku as dynamic conceptual events, we uncover how these tiny poems don't just describe moments—they create them.  Deleuze and Guattari's What is Philosophy?  Richard Gilbert's Plausible deniability: Nature as hypothesis in English‑language haiku  Jim Kacian's Haiku as Anti-Story  Keiko Imaoka's Forms in English Haiku  Charles Trumbull's An Analysis of Haiku in 12-Dimensional Space  Italo Calvino's All at One Point  To contact the podcast EMAIL US Introduction recorded by Graham on  June 11, 2025 in a Toykyo Subway Train

Think haiku is all about simple language? Come along as we unpack how the juxtaposition of poetic and common diction energizes haiku, and how 20th-century English-language poets got it wrong by mistaking the poetic for the prosaic.  Contact the Haiku Theory Podcast by Emailing Us Here.  This episode's soundscape was recorded by Graham on a subway car in Tokyo, Japan in June 2025.   Hiroaki Sato's On Haiku can be purchased here.  Haruo Shirane's Traces of Dreams can be purchased here. Koji Kawamoto's The Poetics of Japanese Verse can be purchased here.

Is haiku bound by the rules of everyday grammar, or does it operate on its own terms? In this episode, we explore how haiku breaks away from the structures of normal sentence-based language. From notions of spontaneous grammars to the disruptive grammars of the "Cut" in haiku, we question why readers and editors often impose standard grammatical expectations on a poetic form that may not want them. Through examples and thought experiments, we ask: If a haiku isn't a sentence, what is it—and what kind of grammar does it create?  Contact the Haiku Theory Podcast by Emailing Us Here.  This episode's music was recorded by Graham at his old piano and is titled, "Waltz of Gold."  

Haiku expectations dictate what it is we think haiku should be doing. In this episode, we dive into the expectations surrounding haiku and how they shape our experience of the form. We explore the common belief that haiku should evoke profound moments of clarity or connection with nature, and why this expectation often leads to disappointment. From the historical influence of Western interpretations to the rise of prescriptive rules about the "haiku moment," we examine how these expectations have shaped both the writing and reading of haiku. Join us as we unpack the assumptions that guide our approach to haiku and rethink what this poetic form is truly meant to do. Instone Poetry Forums, and excellent place to workshop your haiku, and discuss all things haiku, can be found by Clicking Here  Contact the Haiku Theory Podcast by Emailing Us Here.

In a world that often feels disconnected, haiku offers a unique way to nurture our capacity for care. In this episode we read Ce Rosenow and Maurice Hamington's 'A Careful Poetics: Caring Imagination, Caring Habits, and Haiku,' which explores the intersection of care ethics and aesthetic theory, focusing on how haiku can enhance our capacity for care. We discuss how haiku, with its emphasis on embodied experience and mindful attention, cultivates a caring imagination, deepens understanding, and may even inspire compassionate actions. Tune in for a thoughtful look at the potential of poetry to foster care in both personal and societal contexts.  A 'Careful Poetics: Caring Imagination, Caring Habits, and Haiku' can be read in its entirety by Clicking Here.  Inkstone Poetry Forums can be found by Clicking Here.  Contact the Haiku Theory Podcast by Emailing Us Here.  This episode's soundscape was recorded by Graham on a train to Pompy, Italy on June 28, 2024.  

Meaning and Experience  The interplay of meaning and experience in haiku both captivates and frustrates readers and writers alike. In this episode, we delve into Richard Gilbert's concept of Collocation and Roland Barthes' Narrative Codes, examining how these theories illuminate the structures of language—and what they reveal about the life and death of haiku.  Click Here for a link to an incredible discussion and analysis of Peter Newton's 'beam by beam' haiku. Click Here for a brief description of Roland Barthe's five language codes.  To contact the podcast Email Us Here.   The audio of this episode was recorded by Graham at a publicly performed Christmas pageant.  

Within haiku is a tension between silence and expression that mirrors the complex relationship between desire and its unattainable fulfillment.   In this episode, we delve into Ian Marshall's essay, Jouissance among the Kire: A Lacanian Approach to Haiku, to explore Jacques Lacan's concept of Jouissance and its connection to haiku's emphasis on the ineffable, the unsaid, and the fragmented.  Marshall's essay, Jouissance among the Kire: A Lacanian Approach to Haiku, can be read in its entirety by Clicking Here.  To contact the podcast, email us by Clicking Here.  This episode's soundscape was recorded by Graham, and features the sounds of an backstreet in Rome, Italy at 6:58pm on June 28, 2024. 

Dwelling beneath the formal aspect of Juxtaposition is the force of Disjunction, a force that disrupts perception and challenges the very notion of what a haiku is.  In today's episode, we explore Richard Gilbert's essay The Disjunctive Dragonfly, which shifts the conversation about haiku from what haiku is, to how haiku work. Gilbert argues that the true power of haiku lies in the concept of "disjunction," a force that disrupts readers' perceptions and challenges our understanding of how meaning arises within haiku.   Gilbert's essay, The Disjunctive Dragonfly, can be read in its entirety by Clicking Here.   Gilbert's introduction to Jim Kacian's long after can be read by Clicking Here.  William M. Ramsey's essay How One Writes in the Haiku Moment: Mythos vs. Logos, can be read by Clicking Here.  To contact the podcast email us by Clicking Here. This episode's soundscape was recorded by Graham, and features the sounds of a cafe in Varenna, Italy at 9am on June 19, 2024. 

"Good artists copy, great artists steal." This quote is attributed to Picasso, but what does it actually mean for Haiku? Come along as we dig into a theory of crafting original haiku by copying the works of others. In this episode we'll be investigating the theory of copying put forth by Michele Root-Bernstein in her essay 'Copying to Create: The Role of Imitation and Emulation in Developing Haiku Craft,' which can be read in its entirety by CLICKING HERE.   To contact the podcast email us HERE  This episode/s soundscape was recorded by Graham, and features cowbells heard outside of the mountain village of Kriens, Switzerland, on June 11, 2024 at 12:31pm 

Is Realism a false idol of haiku? Is the understanding of Haiku being "a nature poem" a false understanding?  Come along as we explore how Realism interacts with haiku...or even if Realism interacts with haiku at all. In this episode we will be discussing Jim Kacian's essay "Realism is Dead (and Always Was)."  To read the essay in its entirety CLICK HERE  To contact the podcast CLICK HERE  This episode's intro is yours-truly tinkling around on my piano, recorded on a child's toy (which is why it sounds like it's underwater LOL!)    

The linking of juxtaposed components is a formal aspect of haiku, so what are the rules of linking two components together, and what variety of linking methods are there?  Come along as we explore The Art of Juxtaposition: cutting and joining, by Haruo Shirane.   The ideas discussed in this episode can also be explored in Shirane's paper Matsuo Bashō and the Poetics of Scent. To download this paper CLICK HERE. Please note, the document is compilation of a bunch of haiku thinkers discussing Basho (which is highly interesting and informative). To find Shirane's paper scroll down.   To contact the podcast email us HERE  This episodes soundscape was recorded on Graham's back deck on May 4, 2024. 

Come along as we take a closer look at three specific contemporary haiku offering commentary and interpretation.   Ben Oliver's haiku was published by Presence, Britan's leading independent haiku journal.  Richard Tindall's haiku was published in the Heron's Nest.  Fay Aoyagi's collection of haiku, Chrysanthemum Love, can be found Here.  To contact the podcast email us Here.     The opening "soundscape" was recorded at the Paradise Grille diner on Pass-a-Grille Beach, Florida at 9:13 am on April 21, 2024.  

Can English-language haiku actually contain a Kigo? Come along in our exploration of the problems the concept of Kigo causes for English-language haiku as we discuss Charles Trumbull's essay "Seasonality: English-Language Haiku in Search of its Vertical."   Charles Trumbull's essay "Seasonality: English-Language Haiku in Search of its Vertical" can be read by Clicking Here.  Harou Shirane's essay "Beyond the Haiku Moment: Basho, Buson, and Modern Haiku Myths" can be read by Clicking Here.  Jim Kacian's essay "Beyond Kigo: Haiku in the Next Millennium" can be read by Clicking Here.  Jane Reichhold's "A Dictionary of Haiku Classified by Season Words with Traditional and Modern Methods" can be read by Clicking Here.  The Matsuyama Declaration can be read by Clicking Here.   Contact the podcast by Clicking Here 

Are haiku actually wicked machines working to spread the exploitive tenets of Global Capitalism? In this episode we look at Dimitar Anakiev's concept of "Capitalistic Haiku," as we review two articles, which can be found below.  Jack Galmitz's review of Dimitar Anakiev's haiku collection 'Rustics' can be found at the Haiku Foundation by Clicking Here. The review begins on p. 165.  To read Dimitar Anakiev's essay Haiku and Capitalism can be read in it entirety at the Haiku Foundation by Clicking Here.  The essay begins on p. 103.  To contact the podcast email us by Clicking Here.  

Cutting, Ma, and the Haiku Cosmos are three concepts Hasegawa Kai explores in his theories of haiku.   In today's episode we will be thinking about the concept of Ma as we look at an interview with Hasegawa Kai, published in Richard Gilbert's book Poems of Consciousness: Contemporary Japanese and English-language Haiku in Cross-cultural Perspective.     To view the interview with Hasegawa Kai on Richard Gilbert's website (gendaihaiku.com) CLICK HERE   To contact the Haiku Theory Podcast email us HERE

At the time of his death, the haiku master Basho was developing a new aesthetic he called Karumi. What exactly is it, and what does it have to do with haiku?   In today's episode we explore the concept of Karumi with Susumu Takiguchi's essay, "Karumi: Matsuo Basho's Ultimate Poetical Value, or Was It?"   The essay can be read in its entirety here.    Contact the podcast by emailing us here.   Music for this episode was provided by the guitar stylings of Adam Graham.

What exactly does Ba have to do with haiku? Join us for part two of our exploration of the concept of Ba and how it interacts with haiku, which includes a little history of how haiku emerged out of Japan and became an international form of poetry.   This episode's essay is title "So:Ba" and was written by Jim Kacian. The essay can be read in its entirety by CLICKING HERE   To contact the podcast email us at haikutheory@gmail.com   Opening music was recorded in a side-street in Havana, Cuba on January 14, 2017.

It is argued that the concept of Ba, the Japanese word for 'place,' is essential to haiku, but what is Ba? In this episode we begin a two-part exploration of the concept of Ba.     Hold on tight as we delve into the fascinating realm of Ba as presented in the the article, "Communicative Interaction in Terms of Ba Theory: Towards an innovative approach to language practice," which can read in its entirety by Clicking Here.    To view Diego Velazquez's painting "Las Meninas" Click Here   To contact the podcast email us at haikutheory@gmail.com   Opening music provided by your host tinkling around on his piano.

How does a haiku function as a rhetorical act? Come along as we explore four different theories of Haiku Poetics from Randy Brooks' essay "Haiku Poetics: Objective, Subjective, Transactional and Literary Theories."  The essay can be read in its entirety by Clicking Here.  To contact the podcast please email us at haikutheory@gmail.com  The episode's music was recorded in a Barcelona subway station on June, 10 2017. 

It is assumed haiku originated in Japan, but....where does it really come from? Join us for an exploration of the multifaceted genesis of haiku.   In this episode we take a gander at the ideas of Randy Brooks from his essay Genesis of Haiku: Where Do Haiku Come From?  The essay in its entirety can be Found Here.  To contact the podcast please email us at haikutheory@gmail.com This episode's music was recorded in a street cafe in Barcelona on June 23, 2017.