By Danny Sherrard
Island Verse
The waves of the Salish tell ancient stories to our islands. Woven through madrona and cedar, the salt mist and bioluminescence enkindle each syllable every islander speaks. We islanders have a unique knack for spinning a good yarn. At Island Verse, we believe those stories deserve to be heard. They shape our lives with sound and song, holding us in the knowledge that we belong to the land and to our community.
Founded in 2024, Island Verse is a nonprofit dedicated to honoring and amplifying the island voices of the Pacific Northwest. We bring poetry, storytelling and performance into schools and community centers, and we keep a microphone open to the public every Sunday evening.
If you wander up First Street in town, you might notice a new sign swinging. This is Island Verse HQ, a gathering place of collective wisdom and word. A place where blossoming writers can take the stage for the first time. A place where elders can share wisdom shaped by decades of tide and thyme. A place where visiting artists meet local legends and leave metamorphosed by this numinous island community.
Each Sunday, we host a free writers’ group followed by a vibrant open mic where locals gather to tell stories, twang out a new song or speak a poem in front of a receptive audience. If you’ve ever thought, “I want to tell a story, but where do I begin?” – this is your place. All experience levels, all backgrounds, all identities are welcome.
This coming season, Island Verse is honored to launch our “Guest Author Workshop & Reading Series,” supported in part by San Juan County’s Lodging Tax Advisory Committee grant. Each month, we’ll bring exceptional storytellers to the islands to lead hands-on workshops and headline readings and performances. These world-class arts experiences are only part of the vision we are honing. We plan to establish a publishing company within the next year, as well as a poet laureate program to uplift island voices.
We are grateful for the momentum and the trust placed in us. Our partnerships with Alchemy Arts Center and SJI Cares continue to deepen, allowing us to root creative work in the ecology and culture of the islands themselves.
And yet, like every young arts organization, we’re still building our foundation. Our dreams for this space include school residencies, youth leadership, interisland access and opportunities for elders. Island Verse HQ has energy and potential, but also rent, utilities and materials for the people who make this work possible.
So if what we’re building resonates with you — if you’ve seen someone sparked at the open mic, if you believe the islands deserve a flourishing creative life — your support truly makes a difference. Together, we can keep this space open, free, welcoming and alive with the voices of our community.
Come write with us. Come listen with us. Come speak your heart and truth. The story of these islands is still being written, and we want you in it.
About
Island Verse HQ is located at 30 First Street in downtown Friday Harbor. We host a literary salon every Sunday from 4-6 p.m., followed by an open mic from 6-9 p.m. Go to www.islandverse.org to donate and learn about upcoming events, and follow @islandversecollective on Instagram!
Danny Sherrard is the co-founder of Island Verse, a world champion poet and performer, and author of “Cast Your Eyes Like Riverstones into the Exquisite Dark” (2025). He lives on San Juan Island surrounded by books, birds and magic.
