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Wing Beats

Grey Herons

Wing Beats is an ongoing project started by the haiku poets John Barlow and Matthew Paul. It is centred around the book Wing Beats: British Birds in Haiku, published by Snapshot Press.

‘This volume of haiku about birds and what it means to encounter birds in the landscape achieves the near impossible. It captures the deepest feelings and the most minute observations in the fewest words possible—a triumph of seeing, expression and poetic control.’

Mark Cocker, author and naturalist


‘The poems in this volume are worthy heirs to three great traditions: the British love of nature, especially birds; the poetic approach of John Clare, rooted in observation and reality but taking the reader to a higher plane; and finally, of course, the long and venerable tradition of haiku.
By combining these, the writers have produced something truly unique: beautifully written yet easily accessible poetry that helps us reconnect with the natural world in a deeper, more intense way.’

Stephen Moss, from the Foreword