"Haiku Theory" is a thought-provoking podcast delving deep into the theory of haiku, the centuries-old form of Japanese poetry renowned for its profundity.
Each episode investigates a specific aspect of haiku theory, summarizing key ideas found in the writings of the deepest thinkers on haiku throughout the centuries and across the globe.
Whether you're a seasoned haiku enthusiast or a newcomer to the world of haiku, "Haiku Theory" welcomes you to immerse yourself in the beauty and wisdom of this timeless art form.
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 (mailto:haikutheory@gmail.com)
Introduction recorded by Graham on June 11, 2025 in a Toykyo Subway Train
13 Nov 2025
Episode 23: Poetic Diction in Haiku
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 (mailto:haikutheory@gmail.com).
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.
15 May 2025
Episode 22: Haiku Grammar
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 (mailto:haikutheory@gmail.com).
This episode’s music was recorded by Graham at his old piano and is titled, “Waltz of Gold.”
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
9 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
11 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 47 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
67
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
71
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