Sherkin Island

Haiku Group

About Us

The Sherkin Island Haiku Group first met in the winter of 2013 when artist and facilitator, Tess Leak, held Haiku workshops in the Community Hall on Sherkin Island. Their first book, ‘Haiku Island’ recorded this experience, followed by ‘Bare Branches’, a collection of Tanka poems.

With the arrival of the Covid19 global pandemic, the Haiku poets formed a WhatsApp group so that they could continue sharing their poetry during lockdown, and as a way of keeping the community, both on and off the island, connected.

Almost 200 Haiku from this period appeared in ‘Together Apart – Haiku from a locked down Sherkin Island’ in 2021.

Our fourth collection, ‘Light Between Seasons – a year of Haiku poetry from Sherkin Island’, has just launched and is available for sale below.

Shop Our Book

This Haiku collection is the fourth in a poetry series by the Sherkin Island Haiku Group. ‘Light Between Seasons – a year of Haiku poetry from Sherkin Island’, features edited threads of Haiku and the lively conversations that flowed between group members via WhatsApp over a twelve-month period.

With their three lines and seventeen syllables, the Haiku featured in this book capture the ever-changing wild beauty of nature and life. They give a sense of a close community linked by creativity and a shared love of this tiny island in Roaringwater Bay, West Cork.

The book also features illustrations of island flora by members of the Haiku group and is available from €15 including P&P.

All proceeds from the sale of this book will go towards funding the purchase of Sherkin Island’s former National School building for community use.

Please note the different options for buying books Within Ireland and Outside Ireland