As the rain lashes Zürich and the winter tyres go on, it’s time to escape to somewhere warmer! In this episode of the Poetry Peacast, we’re off to the beaches of Langkawi, Malaysia — swapping snowflakes for seashells and cold toes for sand between them.

Patricia shares previously published haiku and senryu from the beach, plus new poems inspired by our latest video prompt. Expect crows, carols, and a touch of tropical sunshine — all wrapped up in the warmth of our global poetry community.

With thanks to Neena Singh for her expert curating, and to all the poets who took part in this month’s prompt.

If you’d like to join in, leave your haiku or senryu in the comments under the video on our YouTube channel (not by email, please!) and maybe you’ll be featured next time.

🌴 Keep writing, keep watching the waves, and see you next week for more poetic adventures.

Episode notes

It’s Poetry Pea’s birthday! To celebrate, we’re throwing a Senryū Pop Quiz — and you’re invited.

In this episode, we put our poetic instincts to the test: can you tell your haiku from your senryū? Or have some poems wandered off into the wild world of micropoetry?

Join us for a fun, thought-provoking episode full of literary nerdery, and maybe a little friendly controversy. We’ll also celebrate Joshua St. Claire’s award-winning haiku and revisit what makes haiku haiku, and senryū, senryū, from seasonal references to intuition and exposés.

Tune in, play along, and then head to the show notes to compare your answers with ours. Let’s see how many you get right—no cheating!

This episode of the Poetry PeaPodcast is Part One of a series on senryū. A form of Japanese short poetry

We begin by asserting that senryū do not have to be humorous. They offer sharp, human insights that continue to spark debate among poets and editors. In this episode you’ll hear examples from both the Japanese canon and contemporary English-language poets, with commentary and context to guide you.

Over the coming episodes in this series, we’ll learn the differences between haiku & senryū, discover the living practice of senryū, and consider their place alongside haiku in today’s poetry world.

Perfect for anyone curious about senryū, haiku, and Japanese short-form poetry in English.